Urbana, Illinois

City: Urbana

County: Champaign

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 40.1000, -88.2000

Located in east central Illinois, forty-seven miles east-northeast of Decatur, Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County. European settlers began moving into the area that would become Urbana in 1822, and white settlers established a settlement in 1824. When the Illinois General Assembly carved Champaign County out of Vermilion County in 1833, commissioners appointed to choose a site for the county seat chose land in this area, which the General Assembly incorporated as a town and named Urbana. In 1855, the General Assembly incorporated it as a city. In 1861, the General Assembly split off West Urbana to form the adjoining city of Champaign. Abraham Lincoln often traveled to Urbana to conduct legal business at the Champaign County Circuit Court.

Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1988), 1274; History of Champaign County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1878), 24-25, 91; "An Act Creating the County of Champaign," 20 February 1833, Private Laws of Illinois (1833), 28-30; "An Act to Charter the City of Urbana," 14 February 1855, Private Laws of Illinois (1855), 135-44; "An Act to Charter the City of Champaign," 21 February 1861, Private Laws of Illinois (1861), 153-85; For Lincoln's cases in the Champaign County Circuit Court, search “Champaign County Circuit Court” in “Court Name,” Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org.