Merrimac, Illinois

Merrimac, Illinois is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

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 Stat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 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 ...

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) * Meramec (series) ...

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

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), 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

{{MonroeCountyIL-geo-stub