Morgan County, Illinois

Morgan County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Jacksonville
Year Organized: 1823
Square Miles: 56

Court House:

300 W. State Street
County Courthouse
Jacksonville, IL 62650-2063

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Gen. Daniel Morgan, earned distinction during the American Revolution at Quebec and Saratoga.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Morgan County was created on January 31, 1823 (Laws, 1823, p. 108.) and was formed from unorganized land (Greene County ) and Sangamon County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: County Greene County (1821–1823), Madison County (1812–1821) and St. Clair County (1790–1812).

The County was named for Daniel Morgan, a General of the Revolution, who, as commander of the "Rifle Brigade," served with distinction at Quebec, Saratoga, the Cowpens, and other important engagements. The County Seat is Jacksonville. Prior County Seats was Olmstead’s Mounds—Temporary designation (1823–1825) and Jacksonville (1825–Present).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 572 square miles (1,482 km²), of which, 569 square miles (1,473 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (9 km²) of it (0.61%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Cass County
East: Sangamon County
Southeast: Macoupin County
Southwest: Greene County; Scott County
West: Pike County
Northwest: Brown County

Cities and Towns:

- Bethel	township
- Chapin	village	Incorporated Area
- Concord	village	Incorporated Area
- Franklin	village	Incorporated Area
- Jacksonville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Lynnville	village	Incorporated Area
- Meredosia	village	Incorporated Area
- Murrayville	village	Incorporated Area
- Naples	town	Incorporated Area
- South Jacksonville	village	Incorporated Area
- Waverly	city	Incorporated Area
- Woodson	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."