Whiteside County, Illinois was established on January 16, 1836. It is the namesake of General Samuel Whiteside who, as a major, fought in the Indian Wars in this section of the country from 1812 until the close of the Black Hawk War. The county also boasts the birthplace of President Ronald Reagan (in Tampico), the Albany Mounds State Historic Site and a segment of one of the first continental highways - U.S. Route 30, aka the Lincolnway Highway. Morrison, the county seat, is centrally located on U.S. Route 30. The communities of Sterling and Rock Falls, located 15 miles to the east, comprise most of the county's 60,000 population.