Macoupin County is a county in Illinois, United States, roughly 40 miles south of Springfield along the Interstate 55 corridor. It had a population of 44,967 at the 2020 census and covers 868 square miles (2,248 km2), of which 863 square miles (2,235 km2) are land, centred near 39°16′N 89°55′W.
Carlinville is the county seat, and its postal code is 62626. The county has 8 cities, 17 villages and several unincorporated communities, spread across 26 civil townships. Macoupin County sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Macoupin County
Macoupin County’s settlements split roughly evenly between incorporated cities along the I-55/former coal-mining corridor and small farm villages on the surrounding prairie. “Unincorp.” marks places with no municipal government of their own; population figures below are shown only where a verified 2020 census count exists for that place.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Atwater | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Barr | Unincorp. | Barr | — | — |
| Baylestown | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Benld | City | — | — | 62009 |
| Brighton | Village | Brighton | — | 62012 |
| Bunker Hill | City | Bunker Hill | — | 62014 |
| Carlinville | City · seat | Carlinville | — | 62626 |
| Carlsburg | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Centerville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Challacombe | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Chesterfield | Village | Chesterfield | — | 62630 |
| Comer | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Dorchester | Village | Dorchester | — | — |
| Eagarville | Village | — | — | 62023 |
| East Gillespie | Village | — | — | — |
| Enos | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Gillespie | City | Gillespie | — | 62033 |
| Girard | City | Girard | — | 62640 |
| Greenridge | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hagaman | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Henderson | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hettick | Village | — | — | 62649 |
| Hornsby | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lake Ka-Ho | Village | — | — | — |
| Macoupin | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| McVey | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Medora | Village | — | — | 62667 |
| Miles Station | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Millville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Modesto | Village | — | — | — |
| Mount Clare | Village | — | — | — |
| Mount Olive | City | Mount Olive | — | 62069 |
| Nilwood | Village | Nilwood | — | 62672 |
| Palmyra | Village | South Palmyra | — | 62674 |
| Piasa | Unincorp. | — | — | 62079 |
| Plainview | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Reader | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Royal Lakes | Village | — | — | — |
| Sawyerville | Village | — | — | 62085 |
| Schoper | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Scottville | Village | Scottville | — | 62683 |
| Shipman | Village | Shipman | — | 62685 |
| Standard City | Village | — | — | — |
| Staunton | City | Staunton | — | 62088 |
| Summerville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Virden | City | Virden | — | 62690 |
| White City | Village | — | — | — |
| Wilsonville | Village | — | — | 62093 |
| Womac | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Woodburn | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
The old scrape’s duplicate entries for “Eagarville” and “Eagarville village” collapse to one row, as do “Royal Lakes” and “Royal Lakes village.” Every other name from the previous list is carried over.
Townships
Macoupin County has 26 civil townships. Precise 2020 per-township counts are not published in a single verified source, so populations are omitted below rather than estimated; the main-settlement column shows the town that shares (or lies within) each township.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Carlinville | — | Carlinville (seat) |
| Gillespie | — | Gillespie, East Gillespie |
| Staunton | — | Staunton |
| Virden | — | Virden |
| Girard | — | Girard |
| Mount Olive | — | Mount Olive |
| Bunker Hill | — | Bunker Hill |
| Brighton | — | Brighton |
| Chesterfield | — | Chesterfield |
| Dorchester | — | Dorchester |
| Nilwood | — | Nilwood |
| Scottville | — | Scottville |
| Shipman | — | Shipman |
| South Palmyra | — | Palmyra |
| North Palmyra | — | — |
| Barr | — | Barr |
| Bird | — | — |
| Brushy Mound | — | — |
| Cahokia | — | — |
| Hillyard | — | — |
| Honey Point | — | — |
| North Otter | — | — |
| South Otter | — | — |
| Polk | — | — |
| Shaws Point | — | — |
| Western Mound | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 62626 — Carlinville (also serves Macoupin)
- 62009 — Benld
- 62012 — Brighton
- 62014 — Bunker Hill
- 62023 — Eagarville
- 62033 — Gillespie (also serves East Gillespie)
- 62069 — Mount Olive
- 62079 — Piasa
- 62085 — Sawyerville
- 62088 — Staunton
- 62093 — Wilsonville
- 62630 — Chesterfield
- 62640 — Girard
- 62649 — Hettick
- 62667 — Medora
- 62672 — Nilwood
- 62674 — Palmyra
- 62683 — Scottville
- 62685 — Shipman
- 62690 — Virden
Small villages without a standalone post office — including Dorchester, Lake Ka-Ho, Modesto, Mount Clare, Royal Lakes, Standard City and White City — use the ZIP code of the nearest listed town above.
Geography
Macoupin County lies on the till plain of west-central Illinois, mostly flat to gently rolling farmland drained by Macoupin Creek, Cahokia Creek and their tributaries toward the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Of its 868 square miles, 863 square miles are land and 4.7 square miles are water. The county was once a major bituminous-coal producer, and reclaimed strip-mine land remains visible around Gillespie, Benld and Mount Olive.
Macoupin County borders Sangamon County to the northeast, Montgomery County to the east, Madison County to the south, Jersey County and Greene County to the west, and Morgan County to the northwest.
Demographics
Macoupin County had 44,967 residents at the 2020 census, giving a density of about 52 people per square mile of land. Carlinville, the county seat, and Gillespie are its two largest communities. Household income runs below the Illinois median of $80,306, reflecting the county’s rural, agriculture- and former-coal-mining economic base.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture drives the county’s economy, with corn, soybeans and some wheat as the dominant crops on the prairie farmland surrounding Carlinville and the smaller villages. The old coal towns along the eastern side of the county — Gillespie, Benld, Mount Olive and Staunton — grew up around bituminous mining in the late 1800s and early 1900s and today mix light industry, trucking and retail along the I-55 corridor with continued farming. Carlinville is home to Blackburn College, a small liberal-arts college founded in 1837 that still runs a student work program to help hold down tuition.
History
Macoupin County was organized on January 17, 1829, carved from parts of Greene and Madison counties. Its name comes from the Miami-Illinois word for the American lotus, nelumbo lutea, which grows along Macoupin Creek. The county was a stronghold of organized labor during the coal-mining era, and Mount Olive is the burial place of labor organizer Mary “Mother” Jones, whose grave in the Union Miners Cemetery draws visitors each Labor Day.
Getting There
Interstate 55 crosses the county on its north–south axis through Girard, Virden and Litchfield-adjacent Staunton, connecting to Springfield and the St. Louis metro area. Illinois Routes 4, 16, 108 and 111 cross the county east–west and north–south, linking Carlinville to the smaller towns.
- Springfield — 35 miles north
- Alton — 30 miles southwest
- St. Louis, Missouri — 50 miles southwest
- Litchfield — 15 miles east
The nearest commercial airport is Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield; St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the nearest major hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Macoupin County, Illinois?
It is in west-central Illinois, about 35 miles north of St. Louis and 35 miles south of Springfield, centred near 39°16′N 89°55′W.
What is the population of Macoupin County?
Macoupin County had a population of 44,967 at the 2020 census.
How big is Macoupin County?
The county covers 868 square miles (2,248 km2), of which 863 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Macoupin County?
Carlinville is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Macoupin County?
The county has 8 cities and 17 villages, plus about two dozen unincorporated communities across its 26 townships.
What ZIP codes are in Macoupin County?
Macoupin County’s ZIP codes include 62626 (Carlinville), 62033 (Gillespie), 62088 (Staunton) and 62690 (Virden), among others listed above.
Why is Macoupin County named that?
The name comes from the Miami-Illinois word for the American lotus, which grows along Macoupin Creek.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Illinois.