Douglas County is a county in Illinois, United States, on the flat corn-and-soybean prairie of east-central Illinois. It had a population of 19,740 at the 2020 census and covers 417 square miles (1,080 km2) centred near 39°46′N 88°13′W.
Tuscola is the county seat, and its postal code is 61953. The county has four incorporated cities, five villages, and roughly twenty unincorporated communities, spread across nine civil townships. Douglas County sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Douglas County
Douglas County has 29 named places on record: 4 incorporated cities, 5 villages (two of which straddle the county line), and 20 unincorporated communities and rural subdivisions. Population figures for individual places are not separately reported in the 2020 census county subdivision data available for this profile, so the Pop. column is left blank where unverified rather than estimated.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscola | City · seat | Tuscola | — | 61953 |
| Arcola | City | Arcola | — | 61910 |
| Villa Grove | City | Sargent | — | 61956 |
| Newman | City | Newman | — | 61942 |
| Arthur | Village | — | — | 61911 |
| Atwood | Village | Garrett | — | 61913 |
| Camargo | Village | Camargo | — | 61919 |
| Garrett | Village | Garrett | — | — |
| Hindsboro | Village | Bowdre | — | 61930 |
| Bourbon | Unincorp. | Bourbon | — | — |
| Chesterville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Chicken Bristle | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Fairland | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Ficklin | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Filson | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Galton | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hayes | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hillcrest | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hugo | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Kemp | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Meadowview | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Murdock | Unincorp. | Murdock | — | 61941 |
| North Prairie Acres | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Northgate | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Parkview | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Patterson Springs | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Southland Acres | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| West Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Yoder Addition | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
Two villages straddle county lines: Arthur sits mostly in neighboring Moultrie County, with its northern edge in Douglas, and Atwood sits mostly in Piatt County, with its eastern edge in Douglas. Both are counted on this list because part of each village’s built-up area lies inside Douglas County.
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Tuscola | — | Tuscola |
| Arcola | — | Arcola |
| Camargo | — | Camargo |
| Newman | — | Newman |
| Garrett | — | Garrett, Atwood (partial) |
| Murdock | — | Murdock |
| Bourbon | — | Bourbon |
| Bowdre | — | Hindsboro |
| Sargent | — | Villa Grove (partial) |
ZIP Codes
- 61953 — Tuscola (also serves rural Tuscola Township)
- 61910 — Arcola
- 61911 — Arthur
- 61913 — Atwood
- 61919 — Camargo
- 61930 — Hindsboro
- 61942 — Newman
- 61956 — Villa Grove
- 61941 — Murdock (PO Box delivery only)
Garrett and the smaller unincorporated communities have no ZIP code of their own and are served by the nearest listed post office town.
Geography
Douglas County lies on flat to gently rolling till-plain prairie typical of east-central Illinois, drained by the Embarras River and the Kaskaskia River, both of which cross the county. Land use is dominated by row-crop farmland, with the county’s small cities and villages spaced roughly six to ten miles apart along the old rail and highway grid.
Douglas County borders Champaign County to the north, Vermilion County to the northeast, Edgar County to the east, Coles County to the south, Moultrie County to the west, and Piatt County to the northwest.
Demographics
Douglas County had 19,740 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 47.8 people per square mile. Tuscola and Arcola are the county’s two largest communities. Illinois’s 2023 median household income is $80,306; Douglas County, a small rural county without a major metro-adjacent job base, typically runs below the state median, though a verified county-level figure is not available for this profile.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture (corn and soybeans) and related grain, seed, and farm-supply businesses anchor the county’s economy, alongside manufacturing and warehousing along the Interstate 57 corridor near Tuscola and Arcola. Arcola, self-styled the “Broom Corn Capital of the World,” is also home to the Rockome Gardens Amish-country attraction nearby and hosts the annual Illinois Railsplitting Festival. The county’s large Amish and Mennonite community, centered on Arthur, supports furniture-making, quilting, and other craft trades that draw regional visitors.
History
Douglas County was organized in 1859 out of Coles County. It was named for Stephen A. Douglas, the Illinois senator who faced Abraham Lincoln in the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debates and lost the 1860 presidential election to him. Tuscola was platted as the county seat around the time of the Illinois Central Railroad’s arrival, and the railroad’s route through Tuscola and Arcola shaped the county’s town spacing.
Getting There
Interstate 57 runs north-south through the county, meeting US Route 36 at Tuscola; US Route 45 and Illinois Routes 49, 130, and 133 also cross the county.
- Champaign-Urbana — 25 miles north
- Mattoon — 20 miles south
- Decatur — 30 miles west
- Danville — 35 miles northeast
The nearest commercial airport is University of Illinois Willard Airport in Savoy, just north of the county.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Douglas County, Illinois?
It is in east-central Illinois, about 25 miles south of Champaign-Urbana, along Interstate 57.
What is the population of Douglas County?
19,740 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Douglas County?
417 square miles (1,080 km2), of which about 0.6 square miles is water.
What is the county seat of Douglas County?
Tuscola is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Douglas County?
Four incorporated cities (Tuscola, Arcola, Villa Grove, Newman) and five villages (Arthur, Atwood, Camargo, Garrett, Hindsboro), plus about twenty smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Douglas County?
61953 (Tuscola), 61910 (Arcola), 61911 (Arthur), 61913 (Atwood), 61919 (Camargo), 61930 (Hindsboro), 61942 (Newman), 61956 (Villa Grove), and 61941 (Murdock, PO Box only).
Why is it called Douglas County?
It was named for Stephen A. Douglas, the U.S. senator who debated Abraham Lincoln across Illinois in 1858.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Illinois.