Massac County, Illinois
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe Library of Congress U.S. Newspaper Directory lists 22 newspaper titles published in Massac County, Illinois, with the earliest starting in 1800. 2 of these titles have digitized pages on Chronicling America. The National Register of Historic Places includes 3 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Metropolis, Brookport.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers published in Massac
Library of Congress22 newspaper titles
| Title | Place | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolis Democrat | Metropolis | 1800–1999 |
| The Metropolitan | Metropolis | 1849–1899 |
| The Metropolis Register | Metropolis | 1851–1899 |
| Metropolis Weekly Sentinel | Metropolis | 1858–1862 |
| Metropolis Register | Metropolis | 1864–1899 |
| The Massac Journal | Metropolis | 1870–1899 |
| Metropolis Weekly Times | Metropolis | 1872–1874 |
| Metropolis Times | Metropolis | 1874–1879 |
| The Metropolis City Item | Metropolis | 1887–1899 |
| Massac Journal-Republican | Metropolis | 1890–1918 |
| The Evening Herald | Metropolis | 1899–1909 |
| The Brookport Independent | Brookport | 1900–1973 |
| The Metropolis Gazette | Metropolis | 1900–1999 |
| The Metropolis Herald | Metropolis | 1900–1918 |
| Joppa Enterprise | Joppa | 1911–1999 |
| The Metropolis Daily News | Metropolis | 1917–1929 |
| The Metropolis News | Metropolis | 1920–1949 |
| The Metropolis News and Republican Herald | Metropolis | 1949–1951 |
| The Metropolis News | Metropolis | 1951–1972 |
| The Metropolis Planet | Metropolis | 1972–? |
| Metropolis Weekly Gazette Digitized | Metropolis | ?– |
| Metropolis Weekly Gazette Digitized | Metropolis | ?– |
Source: Library of Congress U.S. Newspaper Directory. “Digitized” links lead to page images on Chronicling America.
Coverage timeline
NewspapersEach bar is one title’s publication span. brown = digitized on Chronicling America Open-ended runs extend to today.
Sample front pages
Chronicling AmericaNo digitized front pages for Massac are currently available in Chronicling America. Title listings above still come from the U.S. Newspaper Directory. Browse Chronicling America.
Courtesy Library of Congress, Chronicling America.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP1 of 3 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
3 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Curtis, Elijah P., House | Metropolis | 1978 |
| Fort Massac Site | Metropolis | 1971 |
| Kincaid Site NHL | Brookport | 1966 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBMassac was formed in 1843 (1843-02-08) from Johnson, Pope.
MASSAC created from JOHNSON and POPE.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusMassac County population from 1850 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1850 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,092 | 6,213 | 10,443 | 13,110 | 13,559 | 14,937 | 13,594 | 14,341 | 14,990 | 15,161 | 14,169 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS42 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 42 of 42 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Aikins Cemetery |
| Allard Cemetery |
| Armstrong Cemetery |
| Barrett Cemetery |
| Bethel Cemetery |
| Bigley Cemetery |
| Brookport Cemetery |
| Burnham Cemetery |
| Buzzard Roost Cemetery |
| Cagle Cemetery |
| Canaan Cemetery |
| Carr Cemetery |
| Clendenon Cemetery |
| Copland Cemetery |
| Curtis Cemetery |
| Davisson Bumgarner Cemetery |
| Douglas Cemetery |
| Fritts Cemetery |
| Hitchcock Cemetery |
| Howard Cemetery |
| Johnson Cemetery |
| Keckolie Cemetery |
| Kennedy Cemetery |
| Kidd Cemetery |
| Kingston Cemetery |
| Kirkendall Cemetery |
| Liberty Ridge Cemetery |
| Masonic Cemetery |
| Masonic Cemetery Number 10 |
| McCormick Cemetery |
| Metropolis Memorial Gardens |
| Morrison Cemetery |
| Morse Cemetery |
| Mosley Cemetery |
| Murray Cemetery |
| Nineveh Cemetery |
| Odd Fellows Cemetery |
| Pell Cemetery |
| Riepe Cemetery |
| Round Springs Cemetery |
| Westerman Cemetery |
| Wilkins Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Paducah | 676 | 17.0 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Massac County, Illinois
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.