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Illinois County
Edgar County, Illinois
Paris's Bicentennial Park and the Lincoln Trail - from Paris's Bicentennial Park and Camper's Paradise (one of Illinois's most beloved municipal camping parks, a 700-acre facility with multiple lakes, cabins, and camping sites that has been drawing families from across the region for generations) to the Lincoln Heritage Trail's passage through Edgar County and Edgar County's distinction as the birthplace of the phrase "Rock and Roll" (disc jockey Alan Freed, who popularized the term "rock and roll" in the early 1950s, was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, but Edgar County has its own connections to early American music heritage).
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Office: Edgar County Sheriff’s Office – 228 N. Central Avenue, Paris, IL 61944 | (217) 465-4166 | Fax (217) 463-2161; Sheriff Jeff D. Wood. Jail capacity 37 beds.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-1 serves Paris, the county seat and largest city.
Notes: Edgar County was formed January 3, 1823, from Clark County, named for John Edgar, a genuinely notable historical figure: an Irish-born officer in the British Royal Navy who resigned his commission rather than fight against the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Edgar relocated to Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1784, becoming a pioneer merchant, land speculator, and politician.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Edgar County Courthouse – 115 W. Court Street, Paris, IL (built 1891-1893, Romanesque Revival, architect Henry Elliot, the county’s third courthouse; National Register of Historic Places since 1981).
Notes: Edgar County has documented early sheriffs whose stories survive in local histories, including James F. Whitney, who served as sheriff in 1843-1844 and died of cholera while still in office, and Robert M. Ray, who served two terms before moving away.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Edgar County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via edgarcountyillinois.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Paris Carnegie Public Library – 207 S. Main Street, Paris, IL | (217) 463-3950. Chrisman Public Library – 108 North Illinois Street, Chrisman, IL | (217) 269-3011. Kansas Community Memorial Library – 107 N. Front Street, Kansas, IL | (217) 948-5484. Edgar County Genealogy Library – 408 N. Main Street, Paris, IL | (217) 463-4209.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Paris Lake (a popular recreational reservoir), the Edgar County Courthouse (National Register of Historic Places), and downtown Paris’s historic architecture are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine story of John Edgar – a British naval officer who defected to the American side during the Revolutionary War and later became an Illinois pioneer merchant – is among the standout local historical facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Edgar County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via edgarcountyillinois.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via edgarcountyillinois.com; Edgar County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Edgar County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via edgarcountyillinois.com.
NOTES: Edgar County is the twenty-third county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine story of John Edgar’s Revolutionary War defection is among the standout local historical 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 Edgar County
Edgar County is east-central Illinois’s park and Lincoln Trail county – a community whose exceptional municipal camping park and Lincoln heritage draw visitors from across the region.
Paris (the county seat, population ~8,500) hosts Bicentennial Park – an unusually large and well-developed 700-acre municipal park with multiple fishing lakes, camping facilities, and recreational amenities that have made it one of Illinois’s most popular municipal camping destinations.
The Lincoln Trail – the historic route Abraham Lincoln traveled from Indiana to Illinois as a young man – passes through Edgar County, and the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site in nearby Coles County makes the region a Lincoln heritage destination.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Edgar County Assessor at 115 W. Court Street, Suite 1, Paris, IL 61944, phone 217-466-7433. IL residential assessed at 33.33% of market value. Appeal to Board of Review.
Courts & Legal
Edgar County Circuit Court at 115 W. Court Street, Paris, IL 61944, phone 217-466-7447, 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)
115 W. Court St., Paris, IL 61944
(217) 465-4151
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
115 W. Court St., Paris, IL 61944
(217) 465-6271
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
115 W. Court St., Paris, IL 61944
(217) 465-4151
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Edgar County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Edgar 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
Edgar County Circuit Clerk 115 West Court Street, Room M, Paris, IL 61944 (217) 466-7447
Edgar County was founded January 3, 1823, formed out of Clark County, and named for John Edgar. The 1891-93 Edgar County Courthouse (Romanesque Revival, National Register of Historic Places) is the third courthouse to serve the county.
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 Edgar 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 Edgar 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
115 W. Court St., Paris, IL 61944
(217) 465-4172
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
115 W. Court St., Paris, IL 61944
(217) 465-4151
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
115 W. Court St., Paris, IL 61944
(217) 465-4151
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Edgar County Health Dept
(217) 465-3272
IL DCFS — Paris
(217) 466-6720
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Paris Community Hospital
pchealthcare.org (Paris)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Edgar County Health Department – confirm current contact via edgarcountyillinois.com.
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