Merrimac, Illinois

Merrimac, Illinois is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the historic Moredock Precinct of

Monroe County, Illinois Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 34,962. Its county seat and largest city is Waterloo. Monroe County is included in the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statis ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located in the

American Bottoms The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mos ...

, adjacent to the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

levee due south of that river's confluence with the

Meramec Meramec is a name for several places in the United States: * Meramec River in Missouri * Meramec Caverns on the Meramec River * Meramec State Park in Missouri See also * Merrimac (disambiguation) * Merrimack (disambiguation) Merrimack may refer to ...

. It takes its name from this river whose name was translated as 'Ugly Water' from Algonquian by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in the area. However scholars of the language translate it as 'place of strong current', which would certainly seem consistent. Unincorporated communities in Monroe County, Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois

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