Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) System Illinois State Archives
IRAD Home • Administrative Histories / Record Descriptions • Local Government Records Database • Quick Links • Regional Map and Contact Information • Research Policy
Kane County

County Clerk or Recorder
Kane County Government Center
719 S. Batavia Ave.
Geneva, IL 60134
630-232-5950 – County Clerk
630-232-5935 – Recorder
Circuit Clerk
540 S. Randall Rd.
St. Charles, IL 60174
630-232-3413
IRAD Depository
Founders Memorial Library
Rm. 245B
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-1807
Established
- January 16, 1836 (Laws, 1836, p. 273)
Origin of the name of the county
- Named for Elias Kent Kane, a pioneer lawyer, Territorial judge, prominent member of the Constitutional Convention of 1818, first Secretary of State of Illinois, and later United States Senator

Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in
- 1835–1836 – LaSalle
- 1825–1835 – Putnam
- 1823–1825 – Fulton
- 1821–1823 – Pike
- 1819–1821 – Clark
- 1816–1819 – Crawford
- 1815–1816 – Edwards
- 1812–1815 – Madison
- 1801–1812 – St. Clair
- 1790–1801 – Knox, Northwest Territory
County Seats
- 1836–present – Geneva
History of county governing board
- 1836–1850 – County Commissioners’ Court
- 1850–present – County Board of Supervisors
Documented Record Losses
- 1843 – Fire. Some records lost or damaged.
- March 13, 1890 – Fire. Volumes saved; 5,000 court files burned.
Township Government
- Adopted – November 6, 1849
Township Names
- Aurora
- Batavia
- Big Rock
- Blackberry
- Burlington
- Campton – Name changed from Milo on July 2, 1850.
- Dundee
- Elgin
- Geneva
- Hampshire
- Kaneville
- Plato – Name changed from Homer on July 2, 1850.
- Rutland – Name changed from Jackson on July 2, 1850.
- St. Charles
- Sugar Grove
- Virgil
Township Map
Pertinent Databases