Madison county is located in southwest Illinois along the banks of the Mississippi River. The Interstate 70/Interstate 55 interchange lies within its boundaries.
It was formed in 1812 before Illinois became a state. At its inception, it included all the land north of its current-day southern boundary between the Mississippi and the Wabash River. The final boundaries were set in 1843.
The county is the home of the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site--the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico that had its peak of power in circa 1100-1200 A.D. The site is named for the Cahokia, a subtribe of the Illini Nation.
The county seat is Edwardsville and the county population on July 1, 1999, was 259,434, an increase of 10,196 over the 1990 census.
For information on county government, contact the National Association of Counties Web site.
Additional information is available at these pages:
