When the second Grand Lodge of Illinois was established in 1840, it quickly grew both in members and lodges. By 1867, the state boasted over 500 lodges and more than 28,000 members. In order to efficiently organize these geographically, the twelve districts of Illinois were formed in this year.

The 1st District contained the counties of Alexander, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Monre, Perry, Pulaski, Randolph, Union, and Washington. In essence, it was the region with the oldest lodges. For all intents and purposes, this was the original incarnation of our current 9th Southern District.

By 1876, this evolved into the 28th District. This was the counties of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Perry, Jackson, and Williamson. This changed to the 48th District in 1907 and was Jackson and Willamson County. The footprint changed once more in 1917 to include Union County as the 99th District. At this time, there were one hundred districts in the state.

In 1928, this region was known as the 97th District and included Perry and Jackson Counties. The 112th District, as it was known in 1957, resembles its modern form and has remained that way until the present.

Five areas, namely North, East, South, West, and Northeast (Metropolitan), were introduced in 1965 and thus, this region became the 13th Southern District. In the early 2000s, there was a restructuring of the districts and it became what it is today, the 9th Southern District.