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This county is adoptable. See this webpage for more information if you are interested. Contact: IlGenWeb State Coordinator Our previous County Coordinator, Joe Markovich passed away June 2, 2023. Lake County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 714,342 making it the third-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Waukegan. Lake County which was primarily unsettled prairie and was still home to its native Potawatomi Indians, was created by the Illinois State Legislature in 1839. At that time, Libertyville, then known as Independence Grove, was the first county seat. In 1841, however, the county's residents voted to move the county government to Little Fort, now Waukegan, where the commissioners had purchased a section of land from the state. Lake County's first courthouse was built on part of that land in 1844 and the remainder was sold to pay for the $4,000 construction cost. The county's first courthouse was used solely for court sessions and the jail, but in 1853, commissioners constructed a building to accommodate county administration offices and house records. When fire damaged the courthouse on October 19, 1875, the county records were saved because they were in the adjacent building. |
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For corrections or additions, please contact me: State Coordinator
