Editing Stephenson County, Illinois (section)

==History==
The land that became Stephenson County was first settled by William Waddams in 1832, who founded [[Waddams Grove, Illinois|Waddams Grove]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=October 1934 |title=Historical News |journal=Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society |volume=27 |issue=3 |page=347}}</ref> By 1837, population was sufficient to form Stephenson County, taking land from [[Jo Daviess County, Illinois|Jo Daviess]] and [[Winnebago County, Illinois|Winnebago]] counties. The county was named for Colonel [[Benjamin Stephenson (politician)|Benjamin Stephenson]], an official of the [[Illinois Territory]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fifteenth Judicial Circuit |url=http://www.state.il.us/court/CircuitCourt/CircuitMap/15th.asp#Stephenson |access-date=February 20, 2016 |publisher=State of Illinois}}</ref>
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File:Waddams hill.jpg|Marker marking Waddams' first settlement in Stephenson County
File:Stephenson County Illinois 1837.png|Stephenson County at the time of its creation in 1837. Its boundaries have remained unchanged since then.
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