Illinois County, Virginia, was a political and geographic region, part of the BritishProvince of Quebec, claimed during the American Revolutionary War on July 4, 1778, byGeorge Rogers Clark of theVirginia Militia as a result of theIllinois Campaign. Though part or all of the area was also claimed byConnecticut andMassachusetts, it was formally organized by theCommonwealth of Virginia later that year. The County was accorded official governmental existence, including legally defined boundaries and a formal governmental structure under the laws of the Commonwealth.[1] Thecounty seat was the oldIllinois Country French village ofKaskaskia.[2]John Todd was appointed by GovernorPatrick Henry to head the county's government.[3] The county was abolished in January 1782, and Virginiaceded the land to the newUnited States Confederation government in 1784. The area later became theNorthwest Territory by anAct of Congress in 1787.
Geographically, the county was bordered to the southeast by theOhio River, in the west by theMississippi River, and in the north by theGreat Lakes at the time of its existence. It included all of what were known as easternIllinois Country under French sovereignty andOhio Country. Politically, its effective reach extended only to the old French settlements of Vincennes, Cahokia, and Kaskaskia.[2]
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