The county is named for the Wabash River, which forms its eastern and southern borders.

Named the Grand Rapids Hotel, it was owned by Frederick Hinde Zimmerman.

In July 2011, John Matthew Nolan published a detailed history of the Grand Rapids Hotel.

On the morning of April 18, 2008, at 4:37am local time, one of the largest earthquakes in Illinois history hit the area.

The epicenter of this tremor was in Lick Prairie Township, near the middle of the county.

[5] As of the 2010 United States census, there were 11,947 people, 5,012 households, and 3,310 families residing in the county.

Wabash County precincts and their boundaries School districts include:[15]