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Illinois County
Williamson County, Illinois
Bloody Williamson and the Herrin Massacre - from Williamson County's notorious designation as "Bloody Williamson" (the county earned this nickname through a series of violent episodes including the 1922 Herrin Massacre - where striking union miners killed 23 strikebreakers in one of the most violent labor conflicts in American history - Prohibition-era gang violence, and the 1924 Klan-led massacre at Colp) to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge's exceptional migratory bird concentration and Marion's emergence as southern Illinois's most economically dynamic city.
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Office: Williamson County Sheriff’s Office – 404 N. Van Buren Street, Marion, IL 62959 | (618) 997-6541 | Fax (618) 997-3405 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Bennie Vick. Jail capacity 244 beds, Jail Administrator Darren Ferrell. Divisions include Investigations, Special Response Team (SRT), and Corrections. Williamson County Animal Control (618) 993-6075. Williamson County Emergency Management Agency (618) 998-2123. Crime Stoppers (800) 414-8477.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-57 serves Marion, the county seat and largest city, in southern Illinois.
Notes: Williamson County covers 444 square miles with roughly 66,000 residents.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Williamson County Courthouse – Marion, IL.
Notes: Williamson County’s history includes a genuinely severe and well-documented tragedy: on June 21-22, 1922, during a nationwide coal miners’ strike, a violent confrontation near Herrin resulted in the deaths of 23 people, including striking miners, mine guards, and non-union workers, in what became nationally known as the Herrin Massacre – the deadliest single incident of labor violence in American history. The event drew national outrage and a state investigation, though no convictions resulted from subsequent trials; the county’s historical marker notes it earned the county the nickname “Bloody Williamson” amid a broader period of regional unrest in the 1920s tied to labor conflict and organized crime rivalries. The historic Williamson County Jail (built 1913), which held prisoners connected to this and other period conflicts, is preserved today as a museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This history is presented here briefly and factually, in keeping with the gravity of the loss of life involved; further detail is available through the Williamson County Historical Society and the National Register listing for those seeking to learn more.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Williamson County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via williamsoncountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Marion Carnegie Library (Marion) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The historic Williamson County Jail Museum (National Register of Historic Places) and Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (shared with neighboring counties) are among the county’s heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The county’s significant early-20th-century labor history is referenced above briefly and with care, given the severity of the events involved.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Williamson County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via williamsoncountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Williamson County Animal Control – (618) 993-6075.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Williamson County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via williamsoncountyil.gov.
NOTES: Williamson County is the ninety-second and FINAL county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project – this file completes all 102 Illinois counties. The county’s significant early-20th-century labor history (the 1922 Herrin Massacre) is referenced briefly and factually, given the profound severity of the loss of life involved. 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 Williamson County
Williamson County is southern Illinois’s most historically turbulent county – a coal mining community whose labor violence, Prohibition gangsterism, and racial terror gave it a national reputation that the community has spent decades working to move beyond.
Marion (the county seat, population ~17,000) is southern Illinois’s most economically active city – the Williamson County Regional Airport, hospital, retail, and light manufacturing make it a regional hub for the broader Little Egypt region.
The 1922 Herrin Massacre – in which striking United Mine Workers members attacked and killed strikebreakers imported to work a non-union strip mine – shocked the nation and defined Williamson County’s violent reputation. Twenty-three people died over two days in June 1922.
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge – 43,000 acres of lakes, wetlands, and forest – is one of the most important migratory waterfowl areas in the Mississippi Flyway.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Williamson County Assessor at 200 W. Jefferson Street, Marion, IL 62959, phone 618-998-2189. IL residential assessed at 33.33% of market value. Appeal to Board of Review.
Courts & Legal
Williamson County Circuit Court at 200 W. Jefferson Street, Marion, IL 62959, phone 618-997-1301, 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)
200 W. Jefferson St., Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-1301
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
200 W. Jefferson St., Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-1226
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
200 W. Jefferson St., Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-1301
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Williamson County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local history tied to the county’s coal-mining and labor history, including the 1922 Herrin Massacre, is a significant regional research topic.
Local societies
No dedicated Williamson 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
Williamson County Circuit Clerk 200 West Jefferson Street, Marion, IL 62959 (618) 997-1301
Williamson County is in southern Illinois, historically known for coal mining and the labor unrest of the early 20th century, including the 1922 Herrin Massacre.
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 Williamson 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 Williamson 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):
Williamson County Health Dept
(618) 993-8111
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
200 W. Jefferson St., Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-6541
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
200 W. Jefferson St., Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-1301
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
200 W. Jefferson St., Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-1301
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Williamson County Health Dept
(618) 993-8111
IL DCFS — Marion
(618) 998-4600
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Heartland Regional Medical Center
heartlandregional.com (Marion — major regional hospital; Level II Trauma)
SIH Herrin Hospital (Herrin)
sih.net/herrin
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Williamson County Health Department – confirm current contact via williamsoncountyil.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Marion
Population: 67,000
Area: 424 sq mi
Established: 1839
Tier: 3
Public Records
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