Macoupin County

Macoupin county was the 50th county to be created in Illinois, in 1829. It is located in central Illinois just to the south and west of Sangamon County and Springfield, the state capital.

The county was created from parts of Madison County and was later known as the "attached part of Greene County." The name of the county is taken from a Native American word meaning "white potato"--a wild artichoke that was abundant in the county.

When the current courthouse was completed in 1870 at a cost of $1.3 million, it stood taller than the Statehouse and was the largest courthouse in the U.S. outside of New York City.

The county seat is Carlinville, and the county population on July 1, 1999, was 49,020, an increase of 1,341 over the 1990 census.

For information on county government, contact the National Association of Counties Web site.

Additional information is available at these pages:

• Illinois Counties
• Illinois Cities

Location: Carlinville Illinois

See more Illinois Counties.

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