Tazewell County, Illinois, USA

• Location within Illinois
• Township Map
• Community Map
• Communities

• Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society
• Illinois & the Civil War
• Pekin Daily Times
• Fondulac Public Library - East Peoria
• Tremont Public Library

Named for Lyttleton Waller Tazewell

Lyttleton Waller Tazewell [1774-1860] was an eminent lawyer. He served in the Virginia house of delegates, and was a representative from Viriginia. Between 1824-32, the time when Tazewell County, Illinois, was named, he was a U.S. senator. In 1834, L.W. Tazewell became the 27th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Established in 1827

Prior to being organized as a county, the area was part of Sangamon County.

The first Tazewell County encompassed parts of present-day DeWitt, Livingston, Logan, Mason, McLean, and Woodford Counties. The present-day boundaries of Tazewell County were not established until 1841.

First White Settlement in Illinois

In January 1680, Robert de LaSalle and 33 fellow explorers landed their canoes on the eastern bank of the Illinois River near present-day Creve Coeur. They built a winter refuge in the southeast quarter of section one of Pekin Township. Today, the junction of Interstates 474 and Route 29 are within a mile or so of the site.