Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Illinois County
Bond County, Illinois
Greenville University and the Free Methodist heritage - from Greenville University (a Free Methodist-affiliated liberal arts university founded 1892 - Greenville University's evangelical Christian education tradition and enrollment of approximately 1,100 students provide cultural and economic anchoring for a small south-central Illinois county seat) to Bond County's agricultural landscape and its position on the historic National Road corridor connecting Vandalia and St. Louis.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Bond County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via bondcountyil.gov.
Sheriff: Bond County Sheriff’s Office – 403 South Second Street, Greenville, IL 62246 | (618) 664-2151; Sheriff Josh Hill. Jail capacity 22 beds.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-70 and SR-127/140 serve Greenville, the county seat and largest city, east of St. Louis across roughly 380 square miles of rolling farmland and small lakes. Other communities include Pocahontas, Sorento, Mulberry Grove, and Smithboro.
Notes: Bond County was one of Illinois’s original 11 counties when the state applied for statehood in 1818, represented at the constitutional convention in the first capital, Kaskaskia, by Thomas Kirkpatrick and Samuel G. Morse. The county seat was originally at Hills Fort, then Perrysville, before settling at Greenville after George Davidson donated land for a courthouse. Fayette and Montgomery counties were formed from Bond’s territory in 1821, and part of Clinton County in 1825.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Bond County Courthouse – 200 West College Avenue, Greenville, IL. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM, phone (618) 664-3208.
Notes: Greenville, founded in 1815, is one of Illinois’s oldest towns, incorporated as a town in 1855 and a city in 1872. In 1824, a local Bond County vote on slavery went decisively against it, 240 to 63. On April 18, 1934, during the Great Depression, 500 protesters marched to the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission in Greenville over delivery of emergency relief supplies. Greenville has genuine presidential-campaign history: Ronald Reagan gave a speech on the courthouse lawn while campaigning in the 1980s, and Barack Obama visited Greenville in 2004 while campaigning for the U.S. Senate, hosted by the Bond County Democrats.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Bond County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via bondcountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Bond County Community Library (Greenville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Bond County Museum (409 S. Fourth Street, Greenville), the Bond County Courthouse lawn, and the historic downtown Greenville square are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine campaign-trail visits from two future/sitting presidents – Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama – are among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Bond County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via bondcountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via bondcountyil.gov; Bond County Sheriff’s Office, (618) 664-2151, for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Bond County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via bondcountyil.gov.
NOTES: Bond County is the third county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine campaign-trail visits from two future/sitting presidents are among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Bond County
Bond County is south-central Illinois’s Free Methodist university county – a small agricultural community whose faith-based liberal arts college provides an anchor of higher education on the National Road corridor.
Greenville (the county seat, population ~6,900) hosts Greenville University – the Free Methodist-affiliated institution founded 1892 that provides undergraduate and graduate education with strong programs in teacher education, music, and business. The university’s Christian identity and residential character make it a significant presence in a small community.
Bond County’s agricultural economy – corn, soybeans, and cattle – reflects the productive south-central Illinois farmland between the Illinois River lowlands and the Shawnee Hills uplands.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Bond County Assessor at 200 W. College Avenue, Suite 201, Greenville, IL 62246, phone 618-664-3030. IL residential assessed at 33.33% of market value. Appeal to Board of Review.
Courts & Legal
Bond County Circuit Court at 200 W. College Avenue, Greenville, IL 62246, phone 618-664-3208, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
200 W. College Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
(618) 664-0449
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
200 W. College Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
(618) 664-3208
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
200 W. College Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
(618) 664-0449
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Bond County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Bond County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Bond County Circuit Clerk (Third Judicial Circuit) 200 West College Avenue, Greenville, IL 62246 (618) 664-3208
Bond County was founded in 1817, named for Shadrach Bond, Illinois’ first governor. It’s part of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The 1884-1885 Bond County Courthouse (Federal style with Italianate windows) is the fourth in the county’s history.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Illinois has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and is not a community property state – it follows common law property principles. Illinois probate is governed by the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/). Two main paths:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where personal property (excluding real estate) is valued at $150,000 or less (raised from $100,000 effective August 15, 2025), with no unresolved debts or claims and no real estate involved. No formal court probate is required.
Formal Probate (Independent or Supervised Administration) – required when the estate doesn’t qualify for the small estate affidavit. Most Illinois probate cases proceed under Independent Administration, letting the estate representative act without prior court approval for most routine actions.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File the decedent’s original will (if one exists) with the Bond County Circuit Clerk, where the decedent resided at death.
Petition the court to open the estate and appoint an executor (if there’s a will) or an administrator (if intestate).
The court issues Letters of Office (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) appointing the representative.
Publish notice to creditors and unknown heirs as required by Illinois law.
Under Independent Administration, the representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes the remaining estate without needing court approval for each step.
File a final accounting or closing documents to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Illinois imposes its own state estate tax on estates valued above $4 million, with rates up to 16%. There is no Illinois inheritance tax.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the Bond County Circuit Clerk.
Most uncontested probate proceedings in Illinois can be completed within about a year.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
304 W. College Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
(618) 664-1233
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
200 W. College Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
(618) 664-0449
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
200 W. College Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
(618) 664-0449
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Bond County Health Dept
(618) 664-1442
IL DCFS — Greenville
(618) 664-1800
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
HSHS Holy Family Hospital (Greenville)
holyrosaryhospital.com
Anderson Hospital (Maryville)
andersonhospital.org
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Bond County Health Department – confirm current contact via bondcountyil.gov.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
