Madison County, Illinois

Madison County Education, Geography, and History

Madison County is a county located in the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 269,282. Madison County was created on September 14, 1812. The county seat is Edwardsville, and its largest city is Granite City. The county is named for James Madison (1751-1836), fourth President of the United States and principal author of the Constitution of the United States.

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

Etymology - Origin of Madison County Name

The county is named for President James Madison, known as the father of the United States Constitution, who fought for a strong central government to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Madison County History

Madison County was established on September 14, 1812. It was formed out of Randolph and St. Clair Counties and named for James Madison. At the time of its formation, Madison County included all of the modern State of Illinois north of St. Louis, about three-fourths of the Territory.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,918 km² (740 mi²). 1,878 km² (725 mi²) of it is land and 40 km² (15 mi²) of it (2.07%) is water.

 Madison county is located in south Illinois. The county is on the Mississippi River, while the other major body of water is Horseshoe Lake. Horseshoe Lake State Park and Lewis and Clark State Historic Site are located in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Macoupin County
• Northeast: Montgomery County
• East: Bond County
• Southeast: Clinton County
• South: St. Clair County
• Southwest: St. Louis city, Mo.; St. Louis County, Mo.
• West: St. Charles County, Mo.
• Northwest: Jersey County

Education

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