Edwards county is located in southern Illinois, one county removed from the Wabash River. It was formed in 1814 and is named in honor of Ninian Edwards, the first governor of the territory of Illinois.
The original county boundaries encompassed a vast area. They ran from where the Bompas River empties into the Wabash, west to near Mt. Vernon and north to the Canadian border and included parts of Wisconsin and Michigan.
The first group of about 50 settlers comprised mostly of farmers and laborers from Surrey county, England, at the behest of Morris Birkbeck George Flower.
The county seat is Albion and the population on July 1, 1999, was 6,874, a decrease of 566 over the 1990 census.
For information on county government, contact the National Association of Counties Web site.
Additional information is available at these pages: