Kane county was established in 1836 and is located in northern Illinois. At the time, it contained what is now DeKalb County and part of Kendall County. It is named for Elias Kent Kane, Illinois' first Secretary of State and later U.S. Senator.
The county experienced rapid growth following both the Black Hawk War and the Civil War. The railroads were a major player in the growth, transporting lead from Jo Daviess County on the Mississippi River and area dairy products to Chicago.
The Fox River flows from north to south through the middle of the county.
Elgin is home to Elgin Community College.
The county seat is Geneva (originally LaFox) and the county population on July 1, 1999, was 402,622, an increase of 85,151 over the 1990 census.
For information on county government, contact the National Association of Counties Web site.
Additional information is available at these pages: