Palmyra is a village in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 605 at the 2020 census, down from 698 in 2010. History The first home in the Palmyra area was a log cabin built in 1835 by William Owens. The town originally was named "Newburg", then changed to "Cummington" and finally was platted as Palmyra in 1855. Palmyra High School was established in 1892. It closed in 1948 as it combined with three other small towns. Landmarks Palmyra Opera House In November 1902, Clarence Grimett bought a half interest in land and a building at the corner of Main and State streets in Palmyra, where Joseph Waters later joined him in operating a general store. In about 1905, they built a basement oven, hired a baker, and began selling baked goods. After they opened a second-floor theater for presentation of plays and touring performers, the entire establishment became known as the Palmyra Opera House. After a long history as the center of town activity and many years of ownership by Joyce and Rosco Bettis, the Palmyra Opera House was re-opened as a restaurant in November 1999 by Rick Creasy. Palmyra Castle Palmyra Castle is a residence in a park-like setting of , designed to resemble a German castle. Geography Palmyra is located in northwestern Macoupin County at (39.433980, -89.995424). Illinois Route 111 passes through the village as Main Street, leading north to Waverly and southwest to Medora. Carlinville, the Macoupin county seat, is to the southeast via local roads. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Palmyra has a total area of , all land. Solomon Creek, part of the Macoupin Creek watershed leading to the Illinois River, flows southward along the western border of the village. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 733 people, 334 households, and 223 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 361 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.77% White, 0.41% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.14% Pacific Islander, and 0.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population. There were 334 households, of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 28.4% of all households