Massac County is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. According to the
2020 census, it had a population of 14,169.
Established in 1843 and named for a
French fort founded in the 18th century, its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big city b ...
.
Massac County is included in the
Paducah,
KY-IL
Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the
Ohio River
The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
, in the portion of the state known locally as "
Little Egypt".
History
This area was occupied by various cultures of
indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
for thousands of years before European contact. Evidence has been found of indigenous occupancy since the
Archaic Period (8000 to 2000 BCE). More development took place in the
Early Woodland period, such as the
Adena culture
The Adena culture was a pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 500 BCE to 100 CE, in a time known as the Early Woodland period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharin ...
(1000 to 200 BCE). Middle and Late Woodland occupancy continued to about 1000CE, before the rise of the Mississippian culture along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and its major tributaries. It influenced a continent-wide trading and cultural network.
The most complex and last indigenous culture was that of the
Mississippian. The people at this time developed a large settlement during the period 1050CE to 1400-1450CE. At what is known as the
Kincaid Site, considered a
chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political organization of people representation (politics), represented or government, governed by a tribal chief, chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless society, stateless, state (polity) ...
of a stratified society, the people built a total of 19 complex earthwork mounds, including an elite burial mound,
and great plaza as the monuments at the center of a large residential settlement.
This site is now operated by the state and is designated as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
. The people abandoned the site about 1500, perhaps because of environmental reasons, such as running out of timber or game. No evidence has been found that any historic Native American tribes occupied the site in the centuries before European-American settlement. This did not take place until three centuries later, with most occurring 400 years later.
While this was part of the
Illinois Country
The Illinois Country ( ; ; ), also referred to as Upper Louisiana ( ; ), was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s that later fell under Spanish and British control before becoming what is now part of the Midwestern United States. Whi ...
claimed by
French explorers, this area was barely settled by their colonists. Most French colonial villages, such as Prairie du Rocher, were close to the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. During the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
against the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, the French built a fort here in 1757. It was named
Fort Massac
Fort Massac (or Fort Massiac) is a French colonial and early National-era fort on the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, United States.
Its site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
History
The Spanish explorer ...
after Claude Louis d'Espinchal, Marquis de Massiac, the
French Naval Minister.
Massiac is a
commune in
Cantal
Cantal (; or ) is a rural Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint-Flou ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The county was later named after Massac.
After the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, initially this area was settled by people from the South, who migrated along the Ohio River. Southern Illinois was given the colloquial name of "Little Egypt." Massac County was not formally organized until February 8, 1843, when population had increased, and it was made up of territory from both
Johnson
Johnson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Johnson (surname), a common surname in English
* Johnson (given name), a list of people
* List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters
*Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...
and
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
counties. It was developed for agriculture.
In the mid-19th century, after the
revolutions of 1848
The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
, Illinois received many
German immigrants, who changed the politics of the county. They were pro-Union and the Republican Party at the time of the American Civil War and after, whereas the ethnic Southerners had favored the Confederacy and Democratic Party. The ethnic German descendants today comprise nearly one-third of the population of Massac County.
File:Massac County Illinois 1843.png, Massac County at the time of its creation in 1843
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water.
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Metropolis have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in July 1999. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in August to in May.
Major highways
*
Interstate 24
Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennesse ...
*
U.S. Route 45
*
Illinois Route 145
*
Illinois Route 169
Adjacent counties
*
Pope County - north
*
Livingston County,
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
- east
*
McCracken County,
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
- south
*
Pulaski County - west
*
Johnson County - northwest
National protected area
*
Shawnee National Forest (part)
Demographics
2010
Whereas according to the
2010 U.S. Census Bureau:
* 91.0%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
* 5.9%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
* 0.4%
Native American
* 0.3%
Asian
* 0.0%
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi was set ...
or
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
* 2.0%
Two or more races
* 0.4%
Other races
* 1.9%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
2010
As of the
2010 United States census, there were 15,429 people, 6,362 households, and 4,242 families residing in the county.
The population density was . There were 7,113 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% white, 5.9% black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 25.7% were
German, 16.1% were
Irish, 8.5% were
English, and 8.5% were
American.
Of the 6,362 households, 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.3% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 42.1 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,077 and the median income for a family was $51,794. Males had a median income of $46,231 versus $25,717 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,216. About 9.7% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
*
Brookport
*
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big city b ...
Village
*
Joppa
Unincorporated communities
*
Big Bay
*
Boaz
*
Hillerman
*
Midway
*
New Columbia
*
Round Knob
*
Shady Grove
*
Unionville
Forts
*
Fort Massac
Fort Massac (or Fort Massiac) is a French colonial and early National-era fort on the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, United States.
Its site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
History
The Spanish explorer ...
Politics
In its pre-
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
history, the people of Massac County, which like most of Southern Illinois was settled by Southerners, were strongly Democratic. While Illinois was a free state, people of this region were opposed to the
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
politics of the northern regions of the state. County voters chose Democratic candidates in every Presidential election up to and including 1860.
But the region also had numerous ethnic Germans who had arrived after the revolutions of 1848. They favored the Union, and provided a number of Union soldiers rivaled on a per-capita basis only by a few fiercely Unionist counties in
Appalachia
Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
. For the next century, Massac County voters favored Republican candidates for the presidency. During this period, the county's voters gave a plurality to every Republican nominee. They supported
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
in 1912, when the GOP was bitterly divided. During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
,
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
lost the county in 1936 by a greater margin than he did in 1932, when his popularity elsewhere increased as people benefited from government programs. Between 1896 and 1928, no Democratic presidential candidate gained thirty percent of the county's vote.
In the 1964 election, following the assassination of President
John F. Kennedy and during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, incumbent
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...
was the first Democrat in 104 years to carry Massac County. Locally voters opposed
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
’s economic policies and his Deep Southern orientation. Southern Evangelical
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
marginally bettered LBJ's performance in 1976.
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
won a larger plurality in 1992, due to a third-party challenge from
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...
.
But, since 2000 the conservative whites have shifted to the Republican Party in favoring presidential candidates. Some analysts say the conservatives changed parties because of socio-cultural issues. In 2016
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
won 23.3 percent share of the county's vote, the lowest by a Democrat since
John W. Davis in his landslide 1924 loss. In 2020 they gave
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
73.3% of their vote and
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
25.3%. Overall, state voters favored Biden, who won the election in both popular and electoral college votes.
The county was the only county in Illinois to vote against Barack Obama in both of his presidential runs, his
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
Senate run, and the
2008 Democratic Primary, where a majority of residents voted for
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
instead. The county did vote for Obama unanimously in the
2012 Democratic presidential primary against the anti-abortion protest candidacy of
Randall Terry
Randall Allen Terry (born April 25, 1959) is an American politician and activist. Terry founded the anti-abortion organization Operation Save America, Operation Rescue. Beginning in 1987, the group became particularly prominent for blockading th ...
.
For the purposes of Illinois law, the three established political parties in the county are the Democratic Party, Republican Party, and
Constitution Party as all have received 5% or greater of the vote in a recent election. Massac County is the only county in the state in which the Constitution Party is an established political party.
The Constitution Party's established political party status allows it to have the same reduced barriers to ballot access as the Democratic and Republican parties and to hold primaries. In the 2022 primary, a single voter requested a Constitution Party ballot.
Their sole candidate on the ballot, a candidate for county clerk, received 14% of the vote in the 2022 general election.
In the 2024 primary, four voters pulled a ballot for the Constitution Party.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Massac County, Illinois
*
Massac County High School
References
External links
Massac County Sheriff's Office
{{Coord, 37.22, -88.71, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990
1843 establishments in Illinois
Illinois counties
Southern Illinois
Illinois counties on the Ohio River
Paducah micropolitan area
Populated places established in 1843