Please do not repost this information without the express written permission of Celia Snyder . The territory now forming the County of Champaign, with all contiguous thereto for many miles in all directions, was, up to the year 1819, held and occupied after the fashion of Indian occupancy, by what was known as the Kickapoo tribe of Indians, and had been so held by them for more than fifty years, and their ownership was recognized by contemporaneous tribes of Indians and military authorities, French, English and American. It so continued until the year 1819, when a treaty entered into at Edwardsville, Illinois, on the thirtieth day of July, between the United States and the Kickapoo Indian tribe, represented by its chiefs, ceded territory to the whites. This treaty was confirmed and re-declared a month later between the same parties in a treaty held at Vincennes. The surveys of the land were completed in the year 1822, and the traditions gathered from those who came here to stay and did stay and become permanent dwellers and land owners, name this as the year in which the first white man's home was erected, and the same authority recognizes Runnel Fielder and his family as the first white dwellers within Champaign County.
Champaign County has an exceptionally interesting history.
We have not, however, proposed to place this on record, yet a few lines regarding its location, advantages, and the wonderful transformation made from the wilderness of forty years ago, will not, we deem, be inappropriate. While there is no county in the State that possesses all the advantages of an Acadia, yet Champaign County may be credited with coming as near to this as any one of them. This happy location gives it ready access by rail to the cities named, and enables it to secure the benefits of favorable markets. In area, Champaign County is among the largest in the State, and for the value of its products, it is excelled by few. This entire area is under good cultivation, having good roads, elegant farms, fine houses and excellent schools.