Editing Crawford County, Illinois (section)

==History==
Crawford County was formed in the [[Illinois Territory]] on December 31, 1816, out of [[Edwards County, Illinois|Edwards County]]. At the time of its formation, it encompassed about one third of the territory, but it was reduced to its present borders by 1831 as it spawned new counties. It was named in honor of [[William H. Crawford]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n94 95]}}</ref> from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], who was serving as [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] and [[Secretary of the Treasury]] at the time. Crawford County was home to several battles between the settlers and Indians, and also the location of the only woman ever hanged in Illinois.

<gallery>
File:Crawford County Illinois 1816.png|Crawford County when it was created in 1816, extending north to Lake Superior.
File:Crawford County Illinois 1819.png|Crawford County between 1819 and 1821
File:Crawford County Illinois 1821.png|Crawford between 1821 and 1824
File:Crawford County Illinois 1824.png|Crawford between 1824 and 1831
File:Crawford County Illinois 1831.png|In 1831, the creation of Jasper and Effingham Counties reduced Crawford to its current size.
</gallery>

In 1818, the town of Palestine was designated as the county seat. After elections in 1843, a new site was chosen, which would become the town of [[Robinson, Illinois|Robinson]].<ref>Perrin, p. 42.</ref>