Olney ( AWL-nee) is the county seat in Richland County, Illinois.^: 5 The population was 9,115 at the become old of the 2010 census.

Settlement of the Richland County Place began around 1815 considering Thaddeus Morehouse, a native of Vermont, arrived by wagon and built a log cabin along a stagecoach route that ran from Vincennes, Indiana to St. Louis. This log cabin operated as a hotel and tavern.

Richland County was organized as a county in 1841, when it was formed by a partitioning of Clay and Lawrence counties. There was some controversy in the region of the location of the county seat; however, Olney was clear as the complementary based upon a donation of land and the central location. The publish of the town Olney was suggested by Judge Aaron Shaw who desired to honor a friend, Nathan Olney. It was not until 1848 that Olney was incorporated as a village.

The Civil War brought a good deal of turmoil to the county as there were sympathies for both sides. While most citizens rallied on the Union it was valuable to have troops stationed in Olney to enforce the draft as sticking together deserters found refuge along with local citizens. Overall, the county was pro-Union and an estimated 1,700 Richland County citizens fought for the Union in the Civil war. Nearly 1,000 Olney residents served in World War I, and during World War II, Richland County may have been the isolated Illinois county outside of Cook that provided four generals for the fighting effort.