Hancock County, Illinois

County: Hancock

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 40.5167, -91.1500

The Illinois General Assembly created Hancock County in 1825, from Pike County. As provided for in the act that created it, the new county's administrative functions were handled by Adams County until 1829, when Hancock County attained a population of 350 residents. The county courts were held in different locations around the county before settling in Montebello in 1831. In 1833, the legislature appointed commissioners who designated a site for the county seat and named it Carthage.

"An Act Forming New Counties out of the Counties of Pike and Fulton, and the Attached Parts Thereof," 13 January 1825, Laws of Illinois (1825), 92-96; Charles J. Scofield, ed., History of Hancock County Illinois (Chicago: Munsell, 1921), 2:679, 681-85, 1084.