Williamson County, Illinois

Williamson County Education, Geography, and History

Williamson County is a county located in the southern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 66,357.  Williamson County was created on February 28, 1839. The county seat is Marion. The county is named for Hugh Williamson (1735-1819), delegate from North Carolina to the Philadelphia Convention.

Williamson County is included in the Carbondale-Marion, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in an area known as Little Egypt.

Etymology - Origin of Williamson County Name

 The county is named for Hugh Williamson (1735-1819), delegate from North Carolina to the Philadelphia Convention.        

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Williamson County History

Williamson County was created on February 28, 1839 (Laws, 1839, p. 110) and was formed from Franklin County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Franklin County (1818-1839), Jackson County (1816-1818), Gallatin County (1812-1818), Johnson County (1812-1816), Randolph County (1795-1816) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790-1801).

The county is named for Hugh Williamson (1735-1819), delegate from North Carolina to the Philadelphia Convention. The County Seat is Marion (1839-Present).

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 444 square miles (1,151 km²), of which, 423 square miles (1,097 km²) of it is land and 21 square miles (54 km²) of it (4.72%) is water.

Williamson county is located in south Illinois. Part of Tunnel Hill State Trail is located in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Franklin County
• East: Saline County
• Southeast: Pope County
• South: Johnson County
• Southwest: Union County
• West: Jackson County

Education

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