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Office: Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office – Hardin, IL 62047 | (618) 576-2417 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Zach Hardin, appointed January 23, 2026 by the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners after Sheriff William “Bill” Heffington’s retirement/resignation, previously serving as Chief Deputy Sheriff since 2019. Jail capacity 2 beds – genuinely one of the smallest county jails in Illinois.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-100 serves Hardin, the county seat, reached via the Joe Page Bridge. Calhoun County occupies a narrow peninsula bounded by the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
Notes: Hardin was originally known as Terry’s Landing, after first settler Dr. William Terry, then renamed Childs’ Landing in 1835 after Benjamin F. Childs purchased the site. In 1847, Childs offered to donate town land and bricks for a new courthouse if the county seat moved there from Gilead, whose courthouse had burned down. The town then won the seat by a wide margin and was renamed Hardin in honor of John J. Hardin, a former U.S. Congressman and Illinois volunteer colonel who had been killed earlier that year in the Mexican-American War.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Calhoun County Courthouse – Hardin, IL.
Notes: Hardin has produced several notable Illinoisans: Thomas D. Bare, a newspaper editor and state senator; Jerry Corbett, a businessman, baseball player, and politician; and Bill McGee, a major league pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Calhoun County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via calhouncountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Hardin Public Library (Hardin) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Calhoun County Courthouse, the Joe Page Bridge, and the scenic Illinois/Mississippi River peninsula setting are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine, distinctive peninsula geography of Calhoun County – bounded by two major rivers – is among the standout local geographic facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Calhoun County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via calhouncountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via calhouncountyil.gov; Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Calhoun County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via calhouncountyil.gov.
NOTES: Calhoun County is the seventh county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, distinctive peninsula geography of Calhoun County is among the standout local facts covered in this project. ⚠️ Sheriff’s office leadership is very recent (January 2026 appointment) – recommend periodic reconfirmation of current sheriff name. 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 Calhoun County County
Calhoun County is Illinois’s most geographically isolated county – the narrow river peninsula between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers that is still reached primarily by ferry defines a community whose isolation has preserved apple orchard heritage and rural character unlike anywhere else in Illinois.
Hardin (the county seat, population ~900) is Calhoun County’s governmental hub, a small Illinois River bluff community accessible by the Brussels Ferry or the bridge through Missouri, serving the county’s orchard and farming communities in one of Illinois’s most geographically unusual settings.
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Calhoun County Supervisor of Assessments at 102 County Road, Hardin, IL 62047, phone 618-576-2421. IL assessed at 33.33% of market value.
Courts & Legal
Calhoun County Circuit Court at 102 County Road, Hardin, IL 62047, phone 618-576-2421, 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)
102 S. County Rd., Hardin, IL 62047
(618) 576-2351
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
102 S. County Rd., Hardin, IL 62047
(618) 576-2421
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
102 S. County Rd., Hardin, IL 62047
(618) 576-2351
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Calhoun County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Calhoun 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
Calhoun County Circuit Clerk (Eighth Judicial Circuit) 101 North County Road, Hardin, IL 62047 (618) 576-2451
Calhoun County is a narrow peninsula county bounded by the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, with no rail lines or interstate highways – one of the most rural and isolated counties in Illinois. The Eighth Judicial Circuit also includes Adams, Brown, Cass, Mason, Menard, Pike, and Schuyler Counties.
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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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
102 S. County Rd., Hardin, IL 62047
(618) 576-2361
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
102 S. County Rd., Hardin, IL 62047
(618) 576-2351
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
102 S. County Rd., Hardin, IL 62047
(618) 576-2351
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Calhoun County Health Dept
(618) 576-9119
IL DCFS — Jerseyville
(618) 498-9564
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Calhoun County Health Department – confirm current contact via calhouncountyil.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hardin
Population: 4,700
Area: 254 sq mi
Established: 1825
Public Records
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