was the home of two warring tribes of Indians, the Kickapoos and the Pottawatamies.    It was first explored and claimed for France by LaSalle. In the subsequent war between the English and French, the land was won by the English in the battle of Quebec in 1759.    Greene County was organized in 1821 and named for General Nathaniel Greene, the Revolutionary hero. At that time it included what are now the counties of Jersey, Macoupin, Morgan and Scott; Edwardsville was the only town this far west. A group of Rangers roamed over Greene County and the Mississippi Valley encountering many Indians and having many battles with them in an effort to push them further west. As they traveled the country, the beauties of Greene County were apparent to these Rangers and the settlers.    The first school of Greene County was established as a result of the implied powers derived from the general welfare clause of the Constitution of Illinois. The first teacher, Hartwell Hunicutt, settled in Greene County in May 1820 in the Bluff region and taught his first school in 1824. Greene County was destined to grow. In so doing, four large towns came into existence. The first one was Carrollton in 1821. In that same year, it became the county seat. The other three towns in order of their development were White Hall, 1832; Greenfield, 1843; and Roodhouse, 1866. Small villages began to appear as the result of a need for local trading centers, post offices, and churches. They were Athensville, Hillview, Kane, Rockbridge, Patterson, Eldred, Walkerville, and Haypress.    Today, as in the past, Greene County still remains typically Midwest with its agricultural heritage.