Greene County is a county in Illinois, United States, along the Illinois River in the west-central part of the state. It had a population of 11,985 at the 2020 census and covers 546 square miles (1,410 km2) centred near 39°21′N 90°23′W.
Carrollton is the county seat and its postal code is 62016. The county has four cities, five villages and several unincorporated communities spread across 12 civil townships, all in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Greene County
Greene County has four incorporated cities, five incorporated villages, and a scatter of small unincorporated communities that never grew past a crossroads store, church or grain elevator. The table below marks incorporated places as City or Village and everything else as Unincorp.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrollton | City · seat | Carrollton | 2,485 | 62016 |
| White Hall | City | White Hall | 2,295 | 62092 |
| Roodhouse | City | Roodhouse | 1,578 | 62082 |
| Greenfield | City | — | 1,059 | 62044 |
| Kane | Village | Kane | 296 | 62054 |
| Rockbridge | Village | Rockbridge | 175 | 62081 |
| Eldred | Village | — | 149 | 62027 |
| Hillview | Village | — | 94 | 62050 |
| Wilmington | Village | — | 91 | — |
| Athensville | Unincorp. | Athensville | — | — |
| Barrow | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Belltown | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Berdan | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Boyle | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Clark | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Daum | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Drake | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| East Hardin | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Fayette | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Grand Pass | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hanks Station | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Haypress | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Jalapa | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Kahm | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Kaser | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| King | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| McClay Orchard | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Old Kane | Unincorp. | Kane | — | — |
| Patterson | Unincorp. | Patterson | — | 62078 |
| Pegram | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Titus | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Walkerville | Unincorp. | Walkerville | — | — |
| Woody | Unincorp. | Woodville | — | — |
| Wrights | Unincorp. | Wrights | — | 62098 |
Kane and Old Kane are two separate places on record: Old Kane marks an earlier town site near the present village of Kane, in the same township. Wilmington is sometimes written as “Wilmington village” to distinguish it from the many other Wilmingtons around the country; it is not related to Wilmington in Will County.
Townships
Greene County is divided into 12 civil townships, most named for their principal town. Population figures at the township level are not separately published in the sources used for this page, so the Pop. column is left blank rather than estimated.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Athensville | — | Athensville |
| Bluffdale | — | — |
| Carrollton | — | Carrollton (seat) |
| Kane | — | Kane, Old Kane |
| Linder | — | — |
| Patterson | — | Patterson |
| Rockbridge | — | Rockbridge |
| Roodhouse | — | Roodhouse |
| Rubicon | — | — |
| Walkerville | — | Walkerville |
| White Hall | — | White Hall |
| Woodville | — | Woody |
| Wrights | — | Wrights |
ZIP Codes
- 62016 — Carrollton
- 62092 — White Hall
- 62082 — Roodhouse
- 62044 — Greenfield
- 62027 — Eldred
- 62081 — Rockbridge
- 62054 — Kane
- 62050 — Hillview
- 62098 — Wrights (post-office-box delivery)
- 62078 — Patterson (post-office-box delivery)
Wilmington and the smaller unincorporated communities do not have their own post office and use the ZIP code of the nearest town listed above.
Geography
Greene County sits in the bluff country between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, with the Illinois River forming most of its eastern and southern edge. Of its 546 square miles, 543 are land and 3.3 are water. The terrain rises from river-bottom farmland along the Illinois to rolling upland prairie in the county’s interior.
Greene County borders Scott County and Morgan County to the north, Macoupin County to the east, Jersey County to the south, and Calhoun County and Pike County to the west. See Scott County, Morgan County, Macoupin County, Jersey County, Calhoun County and Pike County.
Demographics
Greene County had 11,985 residents at the 2020 census, working out to roughly 22 people per square mile of land. Carrollton (2,485) and White Hall (2,295) are the two largest communities, together holding about two in five county residents. Household income in the county runs well below the Illinois median of $80,306, consistent with a rural farm-and-small-town economy losing population over recent decades.
Economy & Local Life
Row-crop and livestock farming anchors the county economy, with corn and soybeans dominating the bottomland and upland fields. Carrollton and White Hall serve as the county’s retail and school-district centers. The Koster Site, a major archaeological excavation near Eldred, documented more than 7,000 years of continuous human habitation and drew researchers from across the country; artifacts from the dig are displayed at the Center for American Archeology in nearby Kampsville, just across the county line in Calhoun County.
History
Greene County was organized in 1821 out of Madison County and named for General Nathanael Greene of the Revolutionary War. Carrollton was platted as the county seat the same year. The county’s best-known historical distinction is archaeological rather than political: excavations at the Koster Site beginning in the 1960s revealed one of the longest continuously inhabited locations documented in North America, with successive human occupations stretching back millennia.
Getting There
Illinois Routes 267, 108 and 106 are the main highways through the county, meeting at Carrollton and White Hall.
- Jerseyville — about 20 miles southeast
- Springfield — about 45 miles northeast
- Alton — about 40 miles south
- St. Louis, Missouri — about 55 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Greene County, Illinois?
It is in the west-central part of the state, along the Illinois River, roughly midway between Springfield and St. Louis.
What is the population of Greene County?
11,985 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Greene County?
546 square miles (1,410 km2), of which 543 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Greene County?
Carrollton is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Greene County?
Four cities and five villages are incorporated, alongside more than twenty smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Greene County?
Carrollton uses 62016, White Hall 62092, Roodhouse 62082, Greenfield 62044, and several smaller towns have their own codes listed above.
What is the Koster Site?
An archaeological site near Eldred where excavations found evidence of more than 7,000 years of continuous human habitation, one of the longest such records in North America.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Illinois.