Henderson County, Illinois

County: Henderson

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 40.9167, -90.9333

The Sac and Fox nations occupied the area of Henderson County on the Mississippi River prior to its white settlement in the 1820s. Early on, Jeremiah Smith built a sawmill on the Henderson River on what has been called the "Devil's Half Acre." In 1828, Smith and a partner expanded the sawmill to include grinding grain. Soon, other white settlers arrived creating farms, a flour mill, a lumber mill, and more. In 1841, the Illinois legislature created Henderson County out of Warren County and designated Oquawka as the county seat.

History of Mercer and Henderson Counties (Chicago: H. H. Hill, 1882), 22, 869-70, 873; An Act to Establish the County of Henderson.