Carbondale is the largest city in Jackson County in southern Illinois, United States. Carbondale had a 2020 population of 21,857. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a state university in the city. It was founded here in 1874 and has its main campus here.
Carbondale is located in the Big Muddy River Basin, at an altitude of
126 m above sea level (37°43′35″ N 89°13′13″ W HGЯO).
According
to the US Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.7 km² (16.1
mi²), of which 0.52 km² (0.2 mi²) is water.
Carbondale lies in the transition zone between a humid continental
climate and a humid subtropical climate.
Spring is characterized
by the most abundant precipitation of the year, as well as the most
unstable weather conditions. When cold Arctic air from Canada mixes with
warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico, powerful storms are created,
often accompanied by severe thunderstorms with large hail, destructive
winds, tornadoes and tornadoes.
Summer is often hot and humid.
The air temperature reaches 38°C (100°F) on average about 1 or 2 days a
year, and also stays around 32°C (90°F) with high humidity on average 38
to 40 days a year.
Autumn brings mild, comfortable air
temperatures with lower humidity. Precipitation is average. The first
snow usually falls from mid to late November.
Winters are usually
cold and snowy. Maximum temperatures are below 0°C (32°F) on an average
of 20 days a year, and minimum temperatures are below 0°C (32°F) on an
average of 110 days a year. Usually 4-5 days the air temperature can be
below -18 ° C (0 ° F).
The average annual temperature is 12.6 °C
(54.6 °F) and the average rainfall is 1170 mm. The minimum temperature
in the entire history of observations was recorded in January 1977 at
-31.6 ° C (-25 ° F), the maximum - in August 1930 and amounted to 45 ° C
(113 ° F).
Illinois State Route 13 runs east-west through Carbondale as Main
Street. It is located downtown by the U.S. Intersected with Highway 51,
which runs south-north as Illinois Avenue. Both streets are one-way
downtown, so Route 13 runs east on Walnut Street and US-51 runs south on
University Avenue. All other roads are county roads, further subordinate
and partly unpaved roads or inner-city connecting roads.
A
railroad line of the former Illinois Central Railroad, which today
belongs to the Canadian National Railway, has run parallel to Highway 51
since 1854. This route is also used by Amtrak. This nationwide rail
service connects Carbondale to Chicago with three services daily in both
directions. Another daily train service goes to Memphis and New Orleans.
Amtrak train 59, southbound City of New Orleans, runs from Carbondale to
Memphis, Jackson and New Orleans, reverse, train 58 runs via Centralia,
Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Homewood to Chicago
Union Station. Carbondale and Chicago are also connected by train pairs
390/391, Saluki, in the morning and 392/393, Illini, in the afternoon.
Both train pairs end or start in Carbondale.
The city is about 12
miles from Williamson County Regional Airport, which has a commercial
operator that flies four times a day to St. Louis, Missouri. Southern
Illinois Airport is just northwest of town and serves private jets, the
university and the local hospital.
In August 1852, John Connor Asgill, Daniel Harmon Brush, and Dr.
William Richert baught 360 acres (1.45 km²) of land along the Illinois
Central Railroad right of way with the intention of building a new
settlement there. The land was strategically located between the Marion
and Murphysboro stations and between the Makanda and DeSoto stations.
The railroad was to be the deciding factor in the settlement and play an
important role in the future development of the city and southern
Illinois; the first train passed through here on Independence Day in
1854, coinciding with the founding of the community.
At the time
of the Civil War, Carbondale was still a de facto village with a
population of about 1,150, most of whom were Union sympathizers.
Prominent Carbondale citizens such as Brush, Connor, and John Logan
fought as Union troops. A total of 250 city men participated in the war,
55 of whom died, and the first Memorial Day was celebrated at Woodrow
Cemetery on April 29, 1866.
After the war, Carbondale continued
to grow as an important transportation hub and commercial center. The
railroad made it possible to ship coal and fruit mined in southern
Illinois. By this time, the city had also become an educational center,
with the establishment of Carbondale College, which became Southern
Illinois University in 1866. Later, Southern Illinois Normal College
opened in 1874 after winning a bid to build a new teacher training
school in the area.
As the 1890s progressed, more buildings were
added to the college, the railroad continued to grow steadily, the
city's population increased, and new businesses sprang up: the
Carbondale Electric Company in 1891, the Public Water Works in 1900, and
the Carbondale Telephone Company in 1903. over 50 years later, the city
became the commercial, industrial, and educational center of the region.
In 1947, the city gained university status and was named Southern
Illinois University. Since then, it has become the economic engine of
the city and, in fact, the center of higher education and culture for
all of Southern Illinois; enrollment has grown from 2,711 in 1947 to
23,000 in 1980. The population has also increased from 10,921 in 1950 to
26,414 in 1980, or more than 140%. Approximately 40% of the able-bodied
population is employed in the field of education, which equates to about
6,000 people.
The City of Carbondale uses a council-managed form of government. There is an elected mayor and six at-large elected city council members who serve four-year terms, for a total of seven. The City Manager, a professional hired by the City Council, appoints department heads. The City provides public services such as police, fire, development services, public works, and the public library. Several committees enable civic participation and help to get more citizens involved in civic affairs and bridge the gap between residents and government. Carbondale is a zoned municipality and is home rule; in 2010, a new comprehensive plan was approved that outlines future goals and how they will be achieved; on April 5, 2011, Joel Fritzler was elected mayor and served a four-year term; on February 3, 2014, he resigned to accept a position in Arizona job in Arizona. The City Council chose Don Monty as Acting Mayor to complete Fritzler's term; on April 7, 2015, John "Mike" Henry was elected Mayor and took office in May 2015; on April 4, 2023, Carolyn Harvey was elected Mayor and became the first African-American She became the first African American to serve as mayor. Harvey was acting mayor as Henry took a leave of absence.
As of the 2010 census, Carbondale was home to 25,902 people in 11,035
households. The population density was 841 people per square kilometer.
Statistically, 2.02 people lived in each of the 11,035 households.
The racial makeup of the population was 62.4 percent White, 25.6
percent African American, 0.4 percent Native American, 5.7 percent Asian
and 2.5 percent from other races; 3.3 percent descended from two or more
ethnic groups. Regardless of ethnicity, 5.4 percent of the population
was Hispanic or Hispanic.
12.3 percent of the population was
under 18 years old, 80.3 percent were between 18 and 64 and 7.4 percent
were 65 years or older. 46.9 percent of the population was female.
The median annual household income was $19,214. Per capita income
was $15,030. 42.6 percent of the residents lived below the poverty line.
Agnes Ayres is a silent film actress.
Sean Colvin is a
contemporary singer-songwriter in the folk music genre.
Dennis Franz
is an actor.
Walt Frazier is a professional basketball player for the
National Basketball Association.
Buckminster Fuller is an architect,
designer, engineer and inventor.
John Gardner is a writer.
Paul
Gilbert - guitarist.
Troy Hudson is a professional basketball player
and hip hop artist.
Laurie Metcalf is an Emmy and Tony award winning
actress.
John Riley Tanner - politician, Governor of Illinois from
the Republican Party from 1897-1901.