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Office: Hardin County Sheriff’s Office – 104 E. Market Street, Elizabethtown, IL 62931 | (618) 287-2271 | Email: [email protected]. Jail capacity 6 beds.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-1/34/146 serve Elizabethtown, the county seat, in the region of southern Illinois known as “Little Egypt.” Rosiclare is the county’s largest city.
Notes: Hardin County was formed in 1839 from Pope County (with additional area later added from Gallatin County), named for Hardin County, Kentucky, itself named for Colonel John Hardin, an officer in the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. Hardin County is genuinely the least populous county in Illinois (2020 population 3,649) and the second-smallest county in the state by land area, at 182 total square miles.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hardin County Courthouse – 102 Market Street, Elizabethtown, IL (built 1927, the fourth building to serve this purpose, following three earlier courthouses lost to fires or fire-related concerns).
Notes: As of the early 19th century, the area now comprising Hardin County remained a debatable and largely deserted land, its settlement held back by perennial regional conflict among Native American groups, before the county’s eventual 1839 organization.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hardin County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via hardincountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Hardin County District Library (Elizabethtown) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Hardin County Courthouse and War Memorial, and the Ohio River waterfront at Elizabethtown, are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine distinction of Hardin County as both Illinois’s least populous county and its second-smallest by area is among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hardin County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via hardincountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via hardincountyil.gov; Hardin County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hardin County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via hardincountyil.gov.
NOTES: Hardin County is the thirty-fifth county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine distinction of Hardin County as both Illinois’s least populous county and its second-smallest by area is 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 Hardin County County
Hardin County is Illinois’s least populous county and its most dramatically scenic Ohio River county – Cave in Rock’s river pirate hideout carved into the limestone bluffs and the Shawnee National Forest’s canyon country define a county whose natural beauty is extraordinary and whose tiny population makes it one of the most genuinely remote corners of Illinois.
Elizabethtown (the county seat, population ~300) is Hardin County’s governmental hub, one of Illinois’s smallest county seats – a small Ohio River community whose Cave in Rock State Park proximity, river bluff scenery, and Shawnee National Forest access anchor its quiet identity.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Hardin County Supervisor of Assessments at 1 Main Street, Elizabethtown, IL 62931, phone 618-287-2351. IL assessed at 33.33% of market value.
Courts & Legal
Hardin County Circuit Court at 1 Main Street, Elizabethtown, IL 62931, phone 618-287-2735, 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)
1 Main St., Elizabethtown, IL 62931
(618) 287-2251
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
1 Main St., Elizabethtown, IL 62931
(618) 287-2735
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
1 Main St., Elizabethtown, IL 62931
(618) 287-2251
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hardin County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Hardin 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
Hardin County Circuit Clerk (Second Judicial Circuit) 102 East Market Street, Elizabethtown, IL 62931 (618) 287-2735
Hardin County is Illinois’ smallest county by population, on the Ohio River in the state’s southeastern tip – historically known for fluorspar mining.
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 Hardin 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 Hardin 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
1 Main St., Elizabethtown, IL 62931
(618) 287-2221
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
1 Main St., Elizabethtown, IL 62931
(618) 287-2251
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
1 Main St., Elizabethtown, IL 62931
(618) 287-2251
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Hardin County Health Dept
(618) 287-2325
IL DCFS — Harrisburg
(618) 252-6411
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Hardin County General Hospital
hardincountyhospital.org (Rosiclare)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Hardin County Health Department – confirm current contact via hardincountyil.gov.
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Elizabethtown
Population: 3,800
Area: 182 sq mi
Established: 1839
Public Records
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Search public records for Hardin County County residents.
