| Territory of Illinois | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organized incorporated territory of the United States | |||||||||||
| 1809–1818 | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Kaskaskia | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 1810 | 12,282 | ||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||
| • Type | Organized incorporated territory | ||||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||||
• 1809–1818 | Ninian Edwards | ||||||||||
| Secretary | |||||||||||
• 1809–1816 | Nathaniel Pope | ||||||||||
• 1816–1818 | Joseph Phillips | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established byCongress | 1 March 1809 | ||||||||||
• Military Tract of 1812 created in western Illinois | May 6, 1812 | ||||||||||
• Added to theFlag of the United States | July 4, 1819 | ||||||||||
• Granted statehood | 3 December 1818 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
TheTerritory of Illinois was anorganized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809,[1] until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory wasadmitted to the Union as theState ofIllinois. Its capital was the former French village ofKaskaskia on theMississippi River (which is still a part of the State of Illinois). The northern half of the territory, modern Wisconsin and parts of modern Minnesota and Michigan became part of theTerritory of Michigan in 1818.
The area was earlier known as "Illinois Country" (Pays des Illinois) while under French control, first as part ofFrench Canada and then in its southern region as part ofFrench Louisiana. TheBritish gained authority over the region east of theMississippi River from the French, with the 1763Treaty of Paris marking the end of theFrench and Indian War and of the French North American colony ofNew France.
During theAmerican Revolutionary War,Colonel George Rogers Clark took possession of the region forVirginia, which established the "County of Illinois" to exercise nominal governance over the area. Virginia later (1784) ceded nearly all of its land claims north of theOhio River to theFederal government of the United States.
The area became part of the United States'Northwest Territory (from July 13, 1787, until July 4, 1800), and then part of theIndiana Territory. On February 3, 1809, the10th United States Congress passed legislation establishing the Illinois Territory, after Congress received petitions from residents in the Mississippi River areas complaining of the difficulties of participating in territorial affairs in Indiana Territory. The portions of the Illinois Territory north of what became the State of Illinois were in 1818 annexed toMichigan Territory, and after several administrative arrangements became a part of theUpper Peninsula of Michigan (1837), theState of Wisconsin (1848), and a northern section of theState of Minnesota (1858).
The Illinois Territory originally included lands that became the states of Illinois,Wisconsin, the eastern portion ofMinnesota, and the western portion of the upper peninsula ofMichigan. As part of Illinois Territory’s statehood process, the Territory retroceded its Wisconsin lands. Congress reassigned the ceded lands toMichigan Territory.
The original boundaries of the Territory were defined as follows:"...all that part of the Indiana Territory which lies west of the Wabash river, and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash river andPost Vincennes, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada..."
Kaskaskia was the territorial capital. The 1810 census showed a population of 12,282.[2]
In the1810 United States census,2 counties in the Illinois Territory reported the following population counts:[3]
| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randolph | 7,275 |
| 2 | St. Clair | 5,007 |
| Illinois Territory | 12,282 |
Ninian Edwards served as governor of the territory during its entire existence. Its secretaries were:[4][5]
In 1818, the southern half of the territory was admitted to the United States as the State ofIllinois. The northern half, modern Wisconsin and parts of modern Minnesota and Michigan became part of theTerritory of Michigan.
