Stephenson

Formed January 1, 1837 (70^th county)

Stephenson County (44,623), Freeport (23,964)

The Modern concrete and red/brown brick building was constructed in 1975 to replace a classic 1873 courthouse.  It is sited on Galena and Stephenson streets.  United States Highway 20 Business is Galena Street in the town.  Johnson, Kile and Seehausen provided the building designs.  Veteran memorials are outside the courthouse.  The county was formed on January 1, 1837 out of Winnebago and Jo Daviess counties as the 70^th county with Freeport as the only county seat.  Illinois Territory official, Benjamin Stephenson, is the namesake of the county.  The county seat’s location was a “free port” on the Pecatonia River as thus its name. 

Stephenson County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 8 Board Members (legislative.)  Thirteen Circuit Court Judges serve Stephenson, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, and Ogle counties and a court clerk serves Stephenson County (judicial.) The county is in the northwest part of the state on the border with Wisconsin.  Rockford, Illinois is immediately east of the county and Davenport, Iowa is southwest.  The county center is 4 miles North-Northwest of Freeport nearer Cedarville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wisconsin and Winnebago, Ogle, Carroll, and Jo Daviess counties. 

The area of the county is 564 square miles.  It is 43 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 33 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 79.1 persons per square mile making it 30 out of 102 in the state.  Stephenson County has 69.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 20 crosses east and west from Winnebago County to Jo Daviess County.  The county is a rectangle.  Freeport is in the southeast quarter of the county.  Freeport is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 53.7% of the county population.  This county is in the Freeport Micropolitan Statistical Area.