Massac County, Illinois

Massac County Education, Geography, and History

Massac County is a county located in the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 15,429.  Massac County was created on February 8 and March 3, 1843. The county seat is Metropolis. The county is named for Fort Massac, a colonial-era fort on the Ohio River.

Massac County is included in the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the Ohio River, in the portion of the state known locally as "Little Egypt".

Etymology - Origin of Massac County Name

The county is named for Fort Massac, a colonial-era fort on the Ohio River.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Massac County History

Massac County was created on February 8 and March 3, 1843 (Laws, 1843, p. 74, 101) and was formed from Johnson and Pope Counties. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Pope County (1816-1843), Johnson County (1812-1843), Randolph County (1795-1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790-1801).

The County was named for Fort Massac, a corruption of a French surname, Massiac. The County Seat is Metropolis (1843-Present).

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 242 square miles (627 km²), of which, 239 square miles (619 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (8 km²) of it (1.26%) is water.

Massac county is located in south Illinois. Part of Shawnee National Forest is located in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Pope County
• East: Livingston County, Ky.
• South: McCracken County, Ky.
• Southwest: Ballard County, Ky.
• West: Pulaski County
• Northwest: Johnson County
  

Education

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