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Illinois County
Fulton County, Illinois
Spoon River Anthology's literary landscape and Edgar Lee Masters - from Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (the 1915 collection of free verse epitaphs for fictional residents of the fictional Spoon River town - based on Masters' own experiences in the Spoon River valley of Fulton County - became one of the most influential collections in American poetry, pioneering the multi-voice narrative form and unflinching examination of small-town life) to the Dickson Mounds Museum (one of Illinois's most significant archaeological museums, preserving a Native American burial and village complex spanning 12,000 years of Illinois River valley occupation) and Havana's Illinois River sandbar duck hunting heritage.
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Office: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office – 268 W. Washington Avenue, Lewistown, IL 61542 | (309) 547-2277 | Fax (309) 547-2355; Sheriff Jon Webb, a lifelong Fulton County resident, Lewistown High School graduate, and Western Illinois University Law Enforcement and Justice Administration graduate (2009); joined the department in 2011. 21 officers (52 total staff) serving roughly 38,250 residents. Jail capacity 80 beds.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-97/9/78 serve Lewistown, the county seat; Canton is the largest city, part of the Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area within the greater Peoria-Canton Combined Statistical Area.
Notes: Fulton County was organized in 1823 from Pike County, named for Robert Fulton, developer of the first commercially successful steamboat.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Fulton County Courthouse – 100 N. Main Street, Lewistown, IL (east-facing section built 1897-1898, Beaux-Arts, cut limestone facade with a repeated welcoming-archway motif and a clock tower/cupola; a major addition was built to the west in the 1970s). Three earlier courthouses have since disappeared: a log cabin (1823), a frame structure (1826, $649), and a wood-brick-stone building (1837-1838, $9,000).
Notes: Fulton County holds genuine literary significance: American poet Edgar Lee Masters lived in the county during the 1890s and practiced law there, drawing extensively on local people and places – including the vanished third courthouse – for his famous 1915 poetic cycle “Spoon River Anthology,” named for the real river that flows through the county. Abraham Lincoln also extended his law practice into the area, visiting Lewistown in 1838.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Fulton County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via fultonco.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Lewistown Carnegie Public Library (Lewistown) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Sites connected to Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon River Anthology,” the Spoon River itself, the old courthouse columns preserved at Oak Hill Cemetery, and the Fulton County Courthouse are the county’s premier heritage and literary attractions.
Notes: The genuine literary significance of Fulton County as the real-world inspiration for Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon River Anthology” is among the most distinctive local cultural facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Fulton County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via fultonco.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via fultonco.org; Fulton County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Fulton County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via fultonco.org.
NOTES: Fulton County is the twenty-ninth county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine literary significance of Fulton County as the real-world inspiration for “Spoon River Anthology” is among the most distinctive local cultural facts covered anywhere 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 Fulton County
Fulton County is west-central Illinois’s literary and archaeological heritage county – the landscape that inspired one of American poetry’s most influential collections and home to one of Illinois’s finest archaeological museums.
Edgar Lee Masters grew up in Lewistown and the Spoon River valley – his 1915 Spoon River Anthology’s fictional characters drew directly from the people and places of Fulton County. The Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive each October is one of Illinois’s most popular fall tourism events.
Dickson Mounds Museum – built over an archaeological site where 800 Native American burials were discovered – provides exceptional documentation of 12,000 years of Illinois River valley Native American cultures.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Fulton County Assessor at 100 N. Main Street, Suite 1, Lewistown, IL 61542, phone 309-547-3041. IL residential assessed at 33.33% of market value. Appeal to Board of Review.
Courts & Legal
Fulton County Circuit Court at 100 N. Main Street, Lewistown, IL 61542, phone 309-547-3041, 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)
100 N. Main St., Lewistown, IL 61542
(309) 547-3041
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
100 N. Main St., Lewistown, IL 61542
(309) 547-3041
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
100 N. Main St., Lewistown, IL 61542
(309) 547-3041
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Fulton County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Dickson Mounds Museum, near Lewistown – significant Native American archaeological and historical site within the county.
Local societies
No dedicated Fulton 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
Fulton County Circuit Clerk (9th Judicial Circuit) 100 North Main Street, Room 207, Lewistown, IL 61542 (309) 547-3041, ext. 206 Fulton County is in west-central Illinois along the Illinois and Spoon Rivers.
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 Fulton 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 Fulton 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
100 N. Main St., Lewistown, IL 61542
(309) 547-3709
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
100 N. Main St., Lewistown, IL 61542
(309) 547-3041
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
100 N. Main St., Lewistown, IL 61542
(309) 547-3041
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Fulton County Health Dept
(309) 647-1134
IL DCFS — Canton
(309) 647-5281
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Graham Hospital (Canton)
grahamhospital.org
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Fulton County Health Department – confirm current contact via fultonco.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Lewistown
Population: 35,000
Area: 866 sq mi
Established: 1823
Tier: 3
Public Records
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