Scales Mound is a village in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 376 at the 2010 census, down from 401 in 2000.

The original town of Scales Mound was located at the base of an erosional remnant same to Charles Mound, about a mile southwest of the present-day village. In 1830 Samuel Scales purchased the original village site from John Sole and built a tavern at the base of the mound along Sucker Trail, a major east-west corridor. The house that the present-day village of Scales Mound is on was purchased from the U.S. government in 1848 by a man named Dunning. Little is known practically Dunning or the use of the land until the 1850s.

In 1851 the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) was conventional and it would become a major factor in the unity of much of rural Illinois, including Scales Mound. In September 1853, anticipating the arrival of the railroad, the village of Scales Mound was platted by Josiah Conlee and B.B. Provost. During the summer of 1854 track crews from ICRR laid out 20 miles (32 km) of track amongst Scales Mound and Apple River and trains were doling out the origin the daylight after completion. With the beginning of the railroad, Scales Mound’s first building was build up in the late fall 1854; a stock built by Sherman Eddy.

As of the census of 2000, there were 401 people, 164 households, and 108 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,709.5 inhabitants per square mile (660.0/km²). There were 188 housing units at an average density of 801.5 per square mile (309.5/km). The racial makeup of the village was 98.25% White, 0.25% Asian, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.49% of the population.