Created in 1812 from Randolph County, Johnson county later gave rise to Alexander County, Jackson County, Johnson County, Massac County, Pope County, Pulaski County, Saline County, Union County and Williamson County, either in whole or in part.
The county is named in honor of Col. Richard Mentor Johnson who was a native of Kentucky and a military hero in the War of 1812. He would later be elected Vice-President of the United States under Martin Van Buren, in 1837.
The county is located in southern Illinois with the northwest corner near the intersection of Interstate 57 and Interstate 24.
The county seat is Vienna and the county population on July 1, 1999, was 13,598, an increase of 2,251 over the 1990 census. The town is named for Vienna Reynolds, an early 1800's settler in the area.
For information on county government, contact the National Association of Counties Web site.
Additional information is available at these pages:
