Murphysboro, Illinois

Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,970 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area. The Mayor of Murphysboro is Will Stephens. The government consists of the Mayor and 10 city aldermen.

In 2017, the total eclipse of the sun, on August 21, will have its very longest duration (2 minutes, 41.7 seconds) near Murphysboro, at a point about 8 kilometers to the southwest (89.4030 degrees west longitude, 37.69335 degrees north latitude).

Geography

Murphysboro is located at 37°46′2″N 89°20′14″W / 37.76722°N 89.33722°W / 37.76722; -89.33722 (37.767245, -89.337346).

According to the 2010 census, Murphysboro has a total area of 5.235 square miles (13.56 km²), of which 5.15 square miles (13.34 km²) (or 98.38%) is land and 0.085 square miles (0.22 km²) (or 1.62%) is water.

Murphysboro is located 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Kinkaid Lake.

History

Established in September 1843, Murphysboro is the second county seat of Jackson County. Its birth is tied to the disastrous fire that destroyed the courthouse in the first county seat, Brownsville. The fire proved to be the catalyst to move the county seat to a more central location. The name was decided for the new town when William C. Murphy’s name was drawn from a hat containing the names of the three commissioners who chose the new location, a 20-acre (81,000 m²) tract of land donated by Dr. John Logan and Elizabeth Logan. Logan County, Illinois, is named after Dr. Logan.