McDonough County, Illinois

McDonough County Education, Geography, and History

McDonough County is a county located in the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 32,612. McDonough County was created on January 25, 1826. The county seat is Macomb. The county is named for Commodore Thomas McDonough (1783-1825), commander of American naval forces at the Battle of Plattsburgh.

The Macomb, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of McDonough County.

Etymology - Origin of McDonough County Name

The county is named for Commodore Thomas McDonough, defeated the British on Lake Champlain in 1814.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

McDonough County History

McDonough County was created on January 25, 1826 (Laws, 1826, p. 76) and was formed from Schuyler County. County organization was completed on June 14, 1830. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Attached to Schuyler County [Laws, 1826, p. 76] (1826-1830), Schuyler County (1825-1826), Pike County (1821-1825), Madison County (1812-1821) and St. Clair County (1795-1812).

The County was named for Thomas McDonough, a Commodore of the United States Navy, who commanded the fleet on Lake Champlain in a successful engagement with the British fleet, near Plattsburg in 1814. The County Seat is Macomb (1831-Present).

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 590 square miles (1,528 km²), of which, 589 square miles (1,526 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.13%) is water.

 McDonough county is located in west Illinois. Argyle Lake State Park is located in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Warren County
• East: Fulton County
• South: Schuyler County
• West: Hancock County
• Northwest: Henderson County

Education

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