Calhoun
County, Illinois
 Bald
eagles can be seen in abundance in teensy
Calhoun County – sometimes referred to as
The Kingdom of Calhoun – located in
southwestern Illinois, with its southernmost
tip situated at the Mississippi River and
the Illinois River. The county is 37 miles
long and 7 miles wide at its widest point,
and is basically a long peninsula between
the rivers. Four ferries and the Joe Page
Bridge take people back and forth, from
state to state.
Calhoun County was named after John Caldwell
Calhoun, who served as vice president under
both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson,
and secretary of state under President John
Tyler. The county was established in 1825,
seven years after Illinois became a state.
Prior to becoming a county, the area
that’s now Calhoun County was part of the
Military Tract. These were bounty lands
given to War of 1812 veterans.
Calhoun County has only five incorporated
towns, and Hardin, its largest, is the
county seat. Though only 1,100 people live
in Hardin, there is a surprising amount of
things to do and see there. Nature lovers
will appreciate the Two Rivers Wildlife
Refuge, which offers 8,500 acres of
protection to endangered and threatened
species (such as bald eagles); the
24,000-acre Mississippi River State Fish
& Wildlife Area; and the McCully
Heritage Project, a 940-acre outdoor
classroom for students and teachers, and 12
miles of hiking trails.
History lovers should visit the Center for
American Archeology in Kampsville, which
features excavations of early American
Indian habitation sites. Formed in 1953, the
CAA exists to uncover the story behind
10,000 years of human occupation and
thousands of recorded archaeological sites
in the area surrounding the confluence of
the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, often
referred to as the “Nile of North
America.”
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