Editing Watseka, Illinois (section)

==History==
Incorporated in 1865, the name "[[Watseka]]" derives from the [[Potawatomi]] name "Watch-e-kee", "Daughter of the Evening Star", the wife of early eastern Illinois settler [[Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard]].<ref>"The People of the Prairie", Charles Warwick, ''The Illinois Steward'', vol. 16, no. 2, 2007</ref>

The [[Old Iroquois County Courthouse]] was constructed in 1866, with two additions built in 1881 and 1927. In the early 1960s, an Iroquois County resident, Mrs. Katherine Clifton, bequeathed to the county in her will a large sum of money and a site upon which to build a new courthouse. It is the only courthouse in the United States built entirely with private funds.

The old courthouse was advertised for sale and fell into disuse. In 1967, during the Centennial Celebration of Watseka, the Iroquois County Historical Society was organized, and circulated petitions throughout the county not to sell the Old Courthouse. The petitions were approved by the County Board of Supervisors, and the Old Courthouse re-opened as a museum that same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iroquoiscounty.net/museum/history.html|title=The Old Courthouse Museum|year=2010|work=The Iroquois County Links|access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref> In 1975, the Old Courthouse was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Illinois#Iroquois County|National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/il/Iroquois/state.html|title=Illinois - Iroquois County|year=2010|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref>