Winchester is the county seat of Scott County, Illinois. Founded in 1830 and named after Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky, the area was formerly occupied by the Kickapoo and Pottawottamie Indians. Located approximately fifty miles west of thriving Springfield, Illinois, the State Capitol, and approximately fifty miles east of Hannibal, Missouri, the historic river-town home of Mark Twain. A part of the great-plains landscape of Central Illinois, the town is just a few miles from the scenic rolling hills on the bluffs of the Illinois River. Jacksonville, Illinois, a community of 20,000 residents, and rich in manufacturing, retail and service businesses, lies twenty miles to the East. Just three miles off newly built Interstate 72, the community is easily accessible to travelers. Source: Excerpts from Winchester Chamber of Commerce.