Our City Name

It rolls off the tongue now, and you wouldn't consider it.  We are Washington.  But how did we come by the name?  Examining the scarce early records gives us some clues but not the whole story.

William Holland first set foot in what we now know as Washington in the spring of 1825, and he was basically alone on the prairie.  There wasn't even a Tazewell County then, as the area was considered part of Peoria County.  So, in 1825, our area's name could be "Rural Peoria County."

In June 1827,  Tazewell County was separated from Peoria County, and precincts were laid out for voting purposes.  The area surrounding what we know as Washington was dubbed the "Ten Mile Precinct,"  basically encompassing the entire northern third of the county. 

In the "Journal of Isaac McCoy for the Exploring Expedition of 1828," McCoy lists an expense for purchasing 22 pounds of bacon on July 10 from William Holland with the locale identified as: "Farm Creek, near Fort Clark."

In the March 1829 Tazewell County Board minutes, after redistricting the county for voting purposes, the area of Washington is referred to as: "Holland's Settlement."

In 1831, the voting precincts were again redrawn, with Washington's area labeled the "Farm Creek Precinct."

The first mention of "Holland's Grove" is in the December 1832 Tazewell County Board minutes.  Officially, the town was designated as "Holland's Grove" due to the certification of the post office on February 12, 1833.

It has been reported in multiple histories that William Holland laid out the town of "Washington" on March 5, 1834.

The first discovered mention of "Washington" is in the September 1834 Tazewell County Board minutes.  Interestingly, the village is also called "Holland's Grove" at another point in the same minutes.

The town and post office were officially changed to "Washington" on September 13, 1837.