The county is located in southern Illinois with both the Wabash River and Ohio River serving as parts of its eastern boundary.
In the early 1800's Gallitin county grew up around the settlement of Shawneetown (the current county seat) on the Saline River. The economy originally revolved around salt production (used as a preservative for meats and tanning animal hides) owing to a naturally occuring salt lick near Equality in western Gallatin county. The Great Half Moon Lick is said to be one of the largest in the U.S.
Equality was also the source of a large deposit of coal and owned one of the largest coke ovens in the state.
The county population on July 1, 1999, was 6,586, a decrease of 323 over the 1990 census.
For information on county government, contact the National Association of Counties Web site.
Additional information is available at these pages:
