Saline

Formed January 1, 1847 (99^th county)

Saline County (23,772), Harrisburg (8,223)

The Modern red brick courthouse was built in 1973 to replace a classic 1905 courthouse.  It is located on a square at Poplar, Main, Locust, and Vine streets.  Illinois Highway 34 is Poplar Street.  Clark Altay and Associates provided the designs.  There was an 1861 courthouse as well following the county’s January 1, 1847 creation as the 99^th county.  Raleigh was the first county seat followed by Harrisburg in 1859.  Gallatin County provided the land for this county.  The county is named for the river which is named for the salty springs which feed it.  James Alexander Harris donated land for founding the city and provided it his name. 

Saline County government consists of a sheriff and 12 Commissioners.  Twenty-one Circuit Court Judges serve Saline, Alexander, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, Union, and Williamson counties.  The county is in southern Illinois west of Evansville, Indiana and north of Paducah, Kentucky.  Two forks of the Saline River flow through the county.  The county center is in Harrisburg 1.3 miles North of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Hardin, Pope, Johnson, Williamson, and Franklin counties. 

The area of the county is 379 square miles.  It is 77 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 52 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 62.7 persons per square mile making it 39 out of 102 in the state.  Saline County has 62.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 45 crosses the county northeast to southwest from Gallatin County to Williamson County.  The county is a rectangle with Harrisburg located slightly south of the geographical center.  Harrisburg is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 34.6% of the county population.  The county is pronounced SA-LEEN.  This county is in the Harrisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Stonefort