ILLINOIS STATE ARCHIVES

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Lake County

Established
March 1, 1839 (Laws, 1839, p. 216)

Origin of the name of the county
Named for Lake Michigan.

Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in
1836–1839 — McHenry
1831–1836 — Cook
1825–1831 — Putnam
1823–1825 — Fulton
1821–1823 — Pike
1819–1821 — Clark
1816–1819 — Crawford
1815–1816 — Edwards
1812–1815 — Madison
1801–1812 — St. Clair
1795–1801 — Knox, Northwest Territory

County Seats
1839–1841 — Burlington
1841–  — Waukegan – Name changed from Little Fort in 1849.

History of county governing board
1839–1850 — County Commissioners’ Court
1850–  — County Board of Supervisors

Township Government
Adopted — November 6, 1849

Township Names
Antioch
Avon
Benton
Cuba — Name changed from Troy (date unknown).
Ela
Fremont
Grant — Name changed from Goodale (date unknown).
Lake Villa — Formed from Antioch, Avon and Grant (Goodale) (date unknown).
Libertyville
Moraine — Name changed from Deerfield to Moraine on October 29, 1998.
Newport
Shields
Vernon
Warren
Wauconda
Waukegan
West Deerfield — Formed from Deerfield (date unknown).
Zion — Formed from Benton on September 12, 1930.

Township Map

Pertinent Databases
Federal Township Plats of Illinois
Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950
Illinois Statewide Marriage Index
Lake County Circuit Court Case Files Index (1840–1898)
Local Governmental Records Database
Name Index to Illinois Local Governments