Charleston, Illinois
City: Charleston
County: Coles
State: Illinois
Lat/Long: 39.4833, -88.1667
When the Illinois General Assembly created Coles County in 1830, they appointed a commission to choose and name a site for the new county's seat. The commissioners chose the site, acquired the land, and named it Charleston in honor of one of the men who had donated the land for the town.
"An Act Establishing Coles County," 25 December 1830, Laws of Illinois (1830), 59-61; History of Coles County, Illinois (Chicago: Wm. Le Baron, Jr., 1879), 245.