Edwards County is named for Ninian Edwards, who was a Governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818 and Governor of the State of Illinois from 1826 to 1830.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Richland County
E – Wabash County
S – White County
W – Wayne County
Created: November 28, 1814 
County Seat:
Palmyra 1814 – 1821
Albion 1821 – present
County Courthouse – Albion
Location: 50 East Main Street / North 4th Street
Built: 1888 – 1889
Style: Georgian Revival
Architect: McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky
Contractor: Joseph Harris and Sons.
Description: The building faces south and is a three story red colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Albion. The south front has a small portico supported by two columns. The center front extends from the main building and rises to the third story. The east and west sides are two story and the main building behind rises to three stories. On the center of the roof is a square white colored cupola with clock and steep roof. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 2nd Judicial Circuit. The architect was McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky and the contractor was Joseph Harris and Sons. Only a small section of the 1853 building remains consisting of a portion of the wall in the southwest corner. In 1940, an addition was built on the east side. On the north side is a new addition built in 1996 to 1997 and houses the courtroom. The architect was Garrison-Jones Architects Inc. of Carbondale and the contractor was Floyde Black Construction of Mount Vernon. The clock tower was restored in 2007 and 2008. On the east side is the old Sheriff’s Residence.
Note: The bricks were made locally by Mr Bassett, the foundation is of stone quarried locally. The brick work, stone setting, and plastering were done mostly by local workmen supervised by W T Burrell, a local man. The interior woodwork was done by local labor. The tin and sheet‐iron work was done by George Weave, another local artisan.
See: The 2nd Judicial District includes Crawford County, Franklin County, Gallatin County, Hamilton County, Hardin County, Jefferson County, Lawrence County, Richland County, Wabash County, Wayne County and White County.
History : The county was created in 1814 and Palmyra, along the Wabash River, was selected as the county seat. In 1814, the house of Gervase Hazleton was rented by the county as the first courthouse. The county seat was moved to Albion in 1824. The second courthouse was a two story brick structure built in 1825 at a cost of $3,000. The third courthouse was built by Elias Weaver of Harmonie in 1852 at a cost of $3,600. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1887 to 1888 at a cost of $8,345 using the foundation of the 1852 courthouse. During construction, the Court met in the Opera House and the previous courthouse was razed. The 1940 addition was built at a cost of $32,000.
County Courthouse – Albion
Old county Sheriff’s Residence – Albion
Photos taken 2008 and 2012