The present name, adopted in 1855, commemorates the Battle of the Alma in the Crimean War.

[4] The village post office named "Grand Mound City" was changed to "Alma" in 1855 as well.

Interstate 57 touches the northwest corner of the village, with the closest access from Exit 127, 3 miles (5 km) to the north.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alma has a total area of 1.13 square miles (2.93 km2), all land.

[2] The village sits on a slight hilltop that drains north to Warren Branch, a tributary of the East Fork of the Kaskaskia River, and south to the headwaters of Crooked Creek, a west-flowing tributary of the Kaskaskia.