Winnebago County, Illinois

County: Winnebago

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 42.3500, -89.1833

In 1836, the Illinois General Assembly created Winnebago County out of part of Jo Daviess County and unorganized territory attached to La Salle County. Commissioners appointed for the purpose initially chose Winnebago as the county seat, but their choice was heavily disputed. In 1839, county voters chose Rockford as the new county seat. The county was named for the Native American peoples referred to as the Winnebago, but who call themselves the Ho-Chunk. It is located in the northern portion of Illinois.

An Act to Establish Certain Counties; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 35; An Act to Relocate the County Seat of Winnebago County; Charles A. Church, History of Rockford and Winnebago County Illinois (Rockford, IL: W. P. Lamb, 1900), 58, 154-55.