East Central Reporter

Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Teutopolis) recently marked the bicentennial anniversary of Edgar County by presenting the Edgar County Board with a resolution from Illinois House of Representatives congratulating the county on the special milestone.

“Happy 200th Birthday to Edgar County, Illinois!” Niemerg wrote on a June 16 Facebook post, accompanied by a link to a news release about the bill.

The news release included information about how the county was celebrating. The county’s four-day celebration included music, a water balloon fight, children’s activities, a bounce house, golfing, a black tie event, a color fun run, farmers market, road rally, and a parade.

According to TrackBill.com, Niemerg filed the House Resolution 6 with the clerk on Jan. 12. The resolution was adopted on Jan. 31.

The resolution states: “WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Edgar County on the occasion of its 200th anniversary; and WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln also had a strong connection to Edgar County, as it was one of 14 counties in central Illinois on the 8th Judicial Circuit that young Lincoln, in company of other lawyers and judges, traveled on horseback to provide a court of law in county seats in the spring and fall from 1842 to 1853; records show that Lincoln was engaged in 45 cases during his circuit riding days in the county; in 2017, the county was recognized as an official Looking for Lincoln site by the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition (LFLHC) and is now encompassed in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area (ALNHA); and WHEREAS, In more recent history, Edgar County has been home to a Nobel Prize winner, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, a comedy film series star, one of the nation’s first female brigadier generals, and a country music star.”

The resolution notes Edgar County features a total area of 624 square miles in east central Illinois and has nearly 17,000 residents. It includes the cities of Chrisman and Paris, the Villages of Brocton, Hume, Kansas, Metcalf, Redmon, and Vermilion, 10 unincorporated communities, and 15 townships.

“We congratulate Edgar County on its bicentennial and honor the achievements of its citizens and its role in Illinois and U.S. history; and be it further RESOLVED, That we wish Edgar County another 200 years of success; and be it further RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Edgar County as an expression of our esteem and respect,” the resolution concludes.

According to the Edgar County governmental page, the County was formed out of Clark County in 1823 and named after John Edgar, an Irish-born officer in the Royal Navy, who decided to resign instead of fight against the Americans in the Revolutionary War. He later became a miller and merchant in Kaskaskia, Illinois.