Located in southeastern Illinois, Hamilton county was organized in 1821 from parts of White County.
Its name honors Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington. His likeness graces the face of the $10 bill of the U.S. currency system.
This rural area of the state is a combination of gently rolling hills intersected with small prairies and has a conspicuous lack of any large streams or rivers, the largest being the North Fork of the Saline River.
The county seat is McLeansboro and the county population on July 1, 1999, was 8,583, an increase of 84 over the 1990 census. For outdoors enthusiasts, McLeansboro is blessed with the Ten Mile Creek SFWA.
For information on county government, contact the National Association of Counties Web site.
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