Place:Piatt, Illinois, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Piatt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,729, which is an increase of 2.2% from 16,365 in 2000. Its county seat is Monticello.

Piatt County is part of the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The first settler was a Quaker named George Haworth, followed by James Martin, Abraham Hanline, Solomon Carter, and William Cordell.

Piatt County was formed in 1841 from Macon and Dewitt Counties. Two local residents: James A. Piatt and Jesse Warner, were instrumental in forming the county. It was named after James A. Piatt after winning a coin flip against Jesse Warner.

Abraham Lincoln practiced law in Piatt County as a circuit lawyer. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas planned their presidential debates in Piatt County in 1858. One of which is ornamented by a marker just south of Monticello.

The first courthouse was built in 1843 but replaced by the current courthouse which was finished in 1904.

Illinois Power Company was a major electric utility in Central Illinois, centered in Decatur, Illinois, to the west of Piatt County. At one time, Illinois had a "personal property tax", an ad valorem tax levied by the counties on property that was not real estate. The personal property tax was a major expense for the electric utilities, since their generators and transmission lines were "personal property". Under Illinois law, a corporation, such as Illinois Power, paid personal property tax to the county in which the corporate headquarters was located. Because Piatt County offered a low tax rate, Illinois Power moved its corporate headquarters to that county. This allowed Piatt County to tax utility assets over half of the State, providing a rich source of revenue which was responsible for much of the wealth of this tiny county.

Timeline

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Research Tips

External Links

• Outstanding guide to Piatt County family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, censuses, wills, deeds, county histories, cemeteries, churches, naturalizations, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.
• www.rootsweb.com/~ilpiatt/