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Coles County
Contact InformationColes County Courthouse
651 Jackson Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920
217-348-0501 – County Clerk
217-348-0516 – Circuit Clerk
217-348-0501 – Recorder
IRAD Depository
Booth Library
600 Lincoln Ave.
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, IL 61920
217-581-6093
Established
- December 25, 1830 (Laws, 1831, p. 59)
Origin of the name of the county
- Named after Edward Coles, the second Governor of the State of Illinois. Coles served as Governor from December 5, 1822 to December 6, 1826.
Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in
- 1823–1830 – Edgar
- 1819–1823 – Clark
- 1815–1819 – Crawford
- 1812–1815 – Madison
- 1801–1812 – St. Clair
- 1790–1801 – Knox, Northwest Territory
County Seats
- 1831–present – Charleston
History of county governing board
- 1831–1849 – County Commissioners’ Court
- 1849–1860 – County Court
- 1860–present – County Board of Supervisors
Township Government
- Adopted – November 8, 1859
Township Names
- Ashmore
- Charleston
- East Oakland – Name changed from Oakland on May 7, 1860.
- Humboldt – Name changed from Milton on May 7, 1860.
- Hutton
- Lafayette
- Mattoon
- Morgan
- North Okaw – Name changed from Okaw on May 7, 1860.
- Paradise
- Pleasant Grove
- Seven Hickory – Name changed from Hickory on May 7, 1860.
Township Map
Pertinent Databases
- Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
- Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950
- Illinois Statewide Marriage Index
- Local Governmental Records Database
- Mattoon Court of Common Pleas Case Files Index (1869–1873)
- Mattoon Death Certificate Registers Index (1899–1918)
- Name Index to Illinois Local Governments