Metropolis, IL

Metropolis Map

Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,482. It is the county seat of Massac County. Metropolis is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area and also located in Southern Illinois.

Located on the Ohio River, the Metropolis area has been settled by many different peoples over history. For thousands of years, varying cultures of Native Americans originally populated the area. The most complex society was the Mississippian culture, which reached its peak out 1100 AD and built a large city at Cahokia, near present-day Collinsville, Illinois. Its people built large earthworks and related structures, many of which remain at the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mississippian culture regional centers arose throughout the Ohio and lower Mississippian valleys, where the rivers were part of widespread trading routes.

In 1757, Massac County was settled by a French expedition, which built Fort De L'Ascension for use during the French and Indian War (also known as the Seven Years War. The forces at the fort were able to resist a Cherokee attack during the war. Afterward the defeated French abandoned the fort. When the victorious British came to possess territory ceded by the French, the Chickasaw had already destroyed the fort.

Nearby cities include La Center, Ledbetter, Karnak, Smithland, Barlow.