Lake County, Illinois

County: Lake

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 42.3333, -88.0000

On March 1, 1839, the Illinois General Assembly created Lake County out of McHenry County. The General Assembly appointed commissioners to locate a seat of justice for the new county, and in June said commissioners selected Burlington. In February 1841, the General Assembly authorized the county to hold an election on whether to keep the county seat in Burlington or to move it to Little Fort (later Waukegan). In April, residents voted to move the county seat to Little Fort.

An Act for the Formation of Lake County; An Act to Relocate the County Seat of Lake County; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Lake County, ed. by Charles A. Partridge (Chicago: Munsell, 1902), 634, 636-37.