Illinois State...
|
|

|
|
|
| |
Illinois Counties
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
Marion County, Illinois
Marion County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Salem
Year Organized: 1823
Square Miles: 572 |
Court House: P.O. Box 637
County Courthouse
Salem, IL 62881-0637
|
Etymology - Origin of County Name
Gen. Francis Marion, known as the "Swamp Fox," distinguished
soldier in the Carolinas during the American Revolution.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Marion County was created on January 24, 1823 (Laws, 1823, p. 49) and was formed from Fayette and Jefferson Counties.
Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Jefferson County (1819–1823), Fayette County (1821–1823), Crawford
County (1816–1821), Edwards County (1815–1819), Gallatin County (1812–1815), Madison County (1812–1815), Randolph County
(1803–1813), St. Clair County (1790–1813) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790–1801).
The County was named for Francis Marion, a soldier of the Revolution who distinguished himself as a partisan commander
in the Carolinas. The County Seat is Salem (1823-Present).
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 576 square miles (1,491 kmē), of which, 572
square miles (1,482 kmē) of it is land and 3 square miles (9 kmē) of it (0.60%) is water.
The southwest corner of Marion County is the intersection of the Baseline with the Third Principal Meridian, the
point of origin for the third survey of the Northwest Territory under the Land Ordinance of 1785. The origin is
marked with a boulder south of Centralia just off U.S. 51.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Fayette County
- Northeast: Clay County
- Southeast: Wayne County
- South: Jefferson County
- Southwest: Washington County
- West: Clinton County
Cities and Towns:
|
- Alma |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Carrigan |
township |
|
|
- Central City |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Centralia |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Foster |
township |
|
|
- Haines |
township |
|
|
- Iuka |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Junction City |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Kell |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Kinmundy |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Meacham |
township |
|
|
- Odin |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Omega |
township |
|
|
- Patoka |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Pope |
township |
|
|
- Raccoon |
township |
|
|
- Romine |
township |
|
|
- Salem
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Sandoval |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Stevenson |
township |
|
|
- Tonti |
township |
|
|
- Vernon |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Walnut Hill |
village |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Wamac |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
|
|
County Resource Guide
|
|

|
The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
|
|
| |
Penn Foster High School
|
|

|
|