Charleston Public Library - Coles County Illinois Genealogical Society

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Address
712 6th Street
Charleston
Illinois

61920
United States

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Honoring our Coles County Revolutionary War Patriots - 07/18/2026 - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

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A brief overview of Coles County, Illinois’ history

Coles County was formed December 25, 1830 and was named for Edward Coles, who was the second Governor of the State of Illinois, serving from 1822 to 1826. The original county was formed from parts of the already existing counties of Clark and Edgar, both now to the east. Records pertaining to the area prior to 1831 may be found in the county seats of Clark and Edgar Counties.

On March 2, 1843, Cumberland County, was formed from the southern part of Coles County. Then on February 8, 1859, Douglas County, was formed from the northern part of Coles County, being the second to the youngest of Illinois’ 102 counties. In other words, if your ancestor lived in “Coles County” before 1859, you have a much larger area to search, than what currently comprises Coles County.

Charleston was chosen as the County Seat and has always remained the center of county government. The earliest records kept at the courthouse include land and marriage records, dating to late 1830. Pioneers flooded into the area during the aftermath of the Black Hawk War, 1832, when the Native Americans had been relocated west of the Mississippi River and white settlers felt more safe. Coles County has always been primarily a farming community, with some of the most fertile and flattest land in the world in the northern part of the county. Abraham Lincoln’s father and step-mother, with various other relatives came into Coles County in the Spring of 1831, after the “Winter of the Big Snow.”

With the later coming of the railroads, Mattoon developed very quickly and was incorporated as a village in 1857. Ashmore, Bushton, Cooks Mills, Campbell/ Farmington, Diona/Dogtown, Dorans, Etna, Fairgrange, Humboldt, Hutton/Salisbury, Janesville, Lerna, Loxa, Oakland, Paradise, Rardin are other communities through-out the county, where people gathered to live.

The Fourth Lincoln-Douglas Debate took place on the county fairgrounds on Saturday, September 18,1858. The Coles County Fair is still held there annually and is the oldest continually running county fair in the State.

Coles County contributed liberally to the North’s cause during the American Civil War. Coles County ranked near the top of the 102 counties in the State. The population of Coles County in 1860 was 14,174. The total troop quota for the war was 2,728, and Coles County furnished 2,741 in all, or 13 more men than the quota demanded. The Charleston Riot, which is sometimes considered to be the furthest north and west battle of the Civil War took place on the Charleston Square on March 28, 1864. Nine men were killed and 12 were wounded. Coles County has done it’s patriotic duty providing service men and women ever since then.

Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, Eastern Illinois University continues to serve the college education needs of the area.

While mainly an agricultural county, Coles County has also welcomed many businesses and industries to the area over the years. There is a centrally located airport. The main hospital, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, located in Lafayette Township, serves a large portion of east central Illinois.

There is no known history of a courthouse disaster in this county. The original records are housed at the County Courthouse or at Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) at Eastern Illinois University, in Booth Library. Both Charleston and Mattoon have large public libraries. The 2010 Federal Census reported that there were 53,873 people living with the County.

In summary, Coles County is an area rich in history.