
Kane County Celebrates Its 185th Birthday on Jan. 16!
Kane County government will celebrate its 185th birthday on Saturday, Jan. 16 — a good time to reflect on the history of a local government body that now serves more than 530,000 people.
“As Kane County has adapted and changed, it still remains what our founders envisioned: a county that protects its rural heritage, and historic cities and villages, while welcoming its future,” Kane County Board Madam Chairman Corinne Pierog said.

Elias Kent Kane
According to the Kane County History PDF, which you can find on the county Of Kane website, the Illinois legislature formed a new county on Jan. 16, 1836, and named it after Elias Kent Kane, the highly-respected attorney who helped draft the Illinois constitution and was Illinois’ first secretary of state.
Kane was later elected to Congress and represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate until his death in 1835.
The new “Kane County” included what is now DeKalb County and part of the northern portions of Kendall. DeKalb subsequently separated from Kane County in 1837 and Kendall in 1841.
‘LaFox’ — aka Geneva — Was First County Seat
A committee of three members of the legislature selected LaFox (Geneva) as the Kane County seat since James Herrington’s Tavern and Inn, located on North State Street near the Fox River, had the only post office in the County.
Herrington’s Tavern also served as the first county courthouse.
On June 4, 1836, 180 men gathered at the tavern to elect officials for the new county: three commissioners, a sheriff, a recorder of deeds, a coroner, and a surveyor.

One of Kane County’s early courthouses was constructed of quarry stone and built on the site of the present Geneva City Hall on IL Route 31.
The Illinois Constitution of 1848 empowered counties to change their form of government and the residents of Kane County, mostly from New England, chose the county-township type.
Sixteen townships were created — all of which exist today, although some by other names: Hampshire, Jackson (Rutland), Dundee, Burlington, Washington (Plato), Elgin, Franklin (Virgil), Fairfield (Campton), St. Charles, Royalton (Kaneville), Blackberry, Geneva, Batavia, Little and Big Rock, Sugar Grove, and Fox River (Aurora).
The following year, the responsibilities of the county commissioners were divided. The administration of the county was transferred to a Board of Supervisors consisting of one supervisor from each of the 16 townships.
Another elected office, that of the Kane County Clerk, was added. A chief judge and two associate judges assumed the judicial responsibilities formerly held by the commissioners.
The form of government for Kane County changed again in 1972 when the Illinois legislature abolished the Board of Supervisors and established the County Board.
Kane County was divided into 26 districts and one board member was elected from each district. The new 26 member County Board took office in May, 1972.
Since that time, the County Board has been reduced to 24 members, all of whom also serve as commissioners of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County — although the two government entities are distinct taxing bodies, with separate missions, staff and organizational structure.
Today, Kane County government serves more than 532,000 people, according to 2019 U.S. Census data, and provides an array of government services essential to the quality of life in our neck of the woods, including public health, county courts, criminal justice, law enforcement, local elections, economic development, veterans services, public records and much more.
Learn More About Kane County
General Information
- Mission and Vision Statement
- Find your District
- Kane County History
- Document Library
- Strategic Plan
Read The Kane County History Series!
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- Women Leaders Played Huge Roles in Geneva
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- The Harrowing Story of William Lynch, Elgin’s Civil War Brigadier General
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- 1917-18 — When Elgin Artists Went to War
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- The Compelling, Tragic Story of Aurora’s Black WWI Hero Frank Boger
- Geneva History Museum Invites Artists To Celebrate Cultural Heritage
- Elgin’s Anson Clark Soared in The Great War … And Life
- What It Meant To Be a Patrol Boy and Louise White School
- ‘Men’s Night’ Christmas Shopping Was a 1950’s Aurora Phenomenon
- St. Charles Remembers Colson’s Christmas-Day Fire of ’33
- The Art of Elgin’s Cobblestone Reflections
- When Suffrage Met Prohibition in Batavia
- Geneva Presents The Art of The Fox River
- Blansford Astronomical Clock Is Aurora’s Treasure
- St. Charles Returns Family Heirlooms From WWII
- Museum Lands Painting By Elgin Artist Albert Kenney
- Cars Still Fixed at Historic Location in Downtown Batavia
- A Bird’s-Eye View of 19th Century Geneva
- Sheldon Peck: Kane County’s Connection To The Underground Railroad
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- Batavia’s Incredible Roller Skating History
- The Fabled History of Jewelry Stores in Geneva
- Astonishing Buried Treasure Discovered in Aurora Outhouse
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- Meet Batavia’s Sharron Moran, LPGA Star, ‘Most Beautiful Golfer’ of 1966
- The Many Iterations of Geneva’s National Food Store
- The Burlington Zephyr — A ‘Silver Streak’ Through Aurora
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- 18 Events, Limited-Edition Poster For Preservation Month in Elgin!
- Julius Amandus Anderson’s WWI Memorial Trapunto Banner
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- The Historic Drive To Save Aurora’s GAR Hall
- The Story of St. Charles’ Paddlewheel Riverboats
- Meet Elgin’s Legendary Marshal — Andrew Barclay Spurling
- Jackie DeShannon ‘Put A Little Love’ In Batavia
- Aurora’s William S. Hart, Cowboy Movie Star
- St. Charles’ First Settlers, One Lost, Found Again
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- Batavia’s WWI French Connection
- Amazing Stories Behind Geneva’s Extraordinary Parks
- Roots Aurora Seeks 2019 Nominations For Aurora Cultural Champions
- Newly Renovated Thompson Middle School Retains Memories of St. Charles High
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- Batavia Connection to 1969 Moon Landing
- Geneva Company Made Huge Contribution to Art Deco
- East Vs. West 1914 — Aurora’s Greatest Football Game
- North, Union Cemeteries Are St. Charles’ Hallowed Grounds
- Elgin Temperance Crusaders Take Hatchet To Beer Fans
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- Geneva Ghost Stories Rise From Former Hospital Site
- Aurora Tells The Cows To Shut Up
- Baby Face Nelson And 100 Years of St. Charles Boys School ‘Good, Bad And Ugly’
- Behold The Telegraph, Elgin’s First Digital Communication!
- Mary Bailey, Batavia’s Trailblazing Woman Lawyer
- Holiday Traditions, Historic Creche at Geneva History Museum
- Welcome To Thanksgiving Dinner at Aurora’s Tanner House
- St. Charles’ Whiskey Bend Signaled Boom Time For Taverns
- From Elgin Watch Cases To 4.2 Mortar Shells
- Lorraine James’ Art Leaves Lasting Impression on Batavia
- Geneva Remembers The Tornado of 1967
- New Year’s Calling in Aurora
- Newly Digitized Footage Documents Construction of St. Charles Municipal Building
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- How St. Charles Survived The Spanish Flu in 1918
- Elgin Epidemics — COVID-19 Is Not The First To Bring Suffering, Sorrow
- Geneva Museum Passes Milestone
- Aurora’s African-American Police Officers
- Garner Family Is St. Charles’ Juneteenth Celebration Story
- Notable Black Americans From Elgin, IL
- Black Batavians Played Key Roles in History
- Geneva History Museum Reveals Archive Redesign
- Family Secrets — Historian Finds 1866 ‘I Love … ‘ Message Scratched in Tanner House Window
- Cut Glass Was Booming During Roaring 20s in St. Charles
- Elgin Remembers Devastating Palm Sunday 1920 Tornadoes
- Batavians Find Treasure in 150-Year-Old Privies
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- Meet The Doctors Who Helped Shape St. Charles
- Secret Symbolism in Elgin’s Bluff City Cemetery
- Meet The Doctors Who Shaped St. Charles’ History
- Batavia Inventor Paul Hassler And His Arithstyle Adding Machine
- The ‘Background’ on Geneva’s Famous Creche
- Aurora Soldier’s Diary Reveals Gripping Story of War, Love, Pain And Heroism
- St. Charles’ Delnor Hospital — A Thanksgiving Gift in 1940
- Meet Elgin’s Mary Muirhead of The WWI Army Nurse Corps
- Geneva’s Holiday Giving Tradition Continues Despite Pandemic
- Remembering The Days When Aurorans Cut Ice on The Fox River
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The courthouses are built . . .
In 1837 the County offices were moved out of Herrington’s Tavern into a new Courthouse on the corner of
4th and State Streets in Geneva. Total construction cost for this Courthouse was $3,000. Seven years
later Kane County had outgrown these quarters and a new Courthouse, constructed of quarry stone, was
built on the site of the present Geneva City Hall on Rt. 31.
Overcrowding in the jail and the Courthouse soon created a
need for a newer and larger building, and in 1854 bids were
let for construction at the site of the present Courthouse on
3rd Street in Geneva. Disputes with the contractor over
completion dates and workmanship prevented the building
from being occupied until 1857.
The new Courthouse was a magnificent structure, considered
the most important architectural monument in Kane County. It
was designed by John M. Van Osdel, one of Chicago’s
leading architects. The ornate, three-story limestone building
was capped with a large cupola which became a favorite
valley vantage point.
On the night of March 13, 1890, Kane County lost one of its most prized buildings when the Courthouse
burned. Fortunately, the records of the recorder, County Clerk, and the Circuit Clerk were locked in
fireproof vaults and not damaged.
For the next two years, the County rented a house at 2nd and Campbell Streets in Geneva for $30 a
month in order to conduct County business. The clerks crowded into the various rooms and the judges
held court in the dining room.
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