Macoupin County, Illinois

Macoupin County Education, Geography, and History

Macoupin County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 47,765.  Macoupin County was created on January 17, 1829.  The county seat is Carlinville. The county is named for the Native American word Macoupin, meaning American lotus.

Macoupin County is part of the Metro-East region of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Macoupin County Name

The county is named for the Native American word Macoupin, meaning American lotus.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Macoupin County History

Macoupin County was created on January 17, 1829 (Laws, 1829, p. 26) and was formed from unorganized land (Greene County) and Madison County . Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Greene County (1821-1829), Madison County (1825-1829), ? County (1812-1821) and St. Clair County (1790-1812).

The County was named for Macoupin Creek which flows through the county and is derived from the Indian word for the water lilies that grew along the creek. The tubers of the water lilies were a food source for the indians. The County Seat is Carlinville (1829-Present).

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 868 square miles (2,247 km²), of which, 864 square miles (2,237 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (10 km²) of it (0.47%) is water.

Macoupin county is located close to the center of Illinois.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Sangamon County
• East: Montgomery County
• South: Madison County
• Southwest: Jersey County
• Northwest: Greene County; Morgan County

Education

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