Decatur, Illinois

City: Decatur

County: Macon

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 39.8333, -88.9500

On January 19, 1829, the Illinois General Assembly formed Macon County and authorized commissioners to establish a county seat, designating it be called "Decatur" in honor of Stephen Decatur. That year, Macon County officials platted and laid out the town. Decatur remains the county seat of Macon County.

"An Act to Establish a New County to be Called the County of Macon," 19 January 1829, Revised Laws of Illinois (1829), 28-31; John W. Smith, History of Macon County, Illinois, from its Organization to 1876 (Springfield, IL: Rokker's, 1876), 17-34; O. T. Bartow, ed., History of Macon County (Decatur, IL: Macon County History Society, 1976), 21-44.