Pope County, Illinois

Pope County
County
Pope County Courthouse in Golconda
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°25′N 88°34′W / 37.41°N 88.57°W / 37.41; -88.57
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	1816
Named for	Nathaniel Pope
Seat	Golconda
Largest city	Golconda
Area
• Total	374 sq mi (970 km2)
• Land	369 sq mi (960 km2)
• Water	5.5 sq mi (14 km2)  1.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,763
• Density	10/sq mi (4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	12th

Pope County is the southeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 3,763,^[1] making it the second-least populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Golconda.^[2] The county was organized in 1816 from portions of Gallatin and Johnson counties and named after Nathaniel Pope, a politician and jurist from the Illinois Territory and State of Illinois.