Template:Wp-Knox County, Indiana-History

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

In 1790, Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of Northwest Territory, organized Knox County, the first in the Northwest Territory. It was named for Major General Henry Knox, who had completed his term as second U.S. Secretary of War the previous September. Knox County was created prior to the formation of the Indiana Territory. When it was created, Knox County extended to Canada and encompassed all or part of the present states of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. When the Illinois Territory was formed in 1809, the portions of Knox County beyond the Wabash River became Saint Clair County, Illinois.

Many of Knox County townships and lots were surveyed with the French system, which employs non-cardinal compass points. Knox and Clark counties are the only ones laid out in this fashion.