Carbondale, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carbondale is a city in Southern Illinois in the midwest United States, about one hour north of Cairo. It is known mainly as the site of the main campus of Southern Illinois University. The city is located in Jackson County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 20,681.
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[edit] History
Carbondale was named by founder Daniel Harmon Brush, who had aspirations of developing coal mining operations in the region. By the time of the American Civil War, the area had been incorporated as a village. After the war it developed into a center of business and transportation for the region.
On April 29, 1866, one of the first formal Memorial Day observations was held at the city's Woodlawn Cemetery, with local resident, General John A. Logan, giving the principal address.
Southern Illinois Normal University, a major factor in Carbondale's economy, which later became known as Southern Illinois University (SIU), was founded in Carbondale in 1869. Originally a sleepy teachers' college, it now bustles with more than 21,000 students.
The city is in an area of the state known as Little Egypt.
On November 8, 1969 Carbondale was the site of a concert given by Simon and Garfunkel. Recordings of at least some of the tracks from this concert have been widely bootlegged, most notably Head Records' CD "Village Vanguard," tracks 4-11.
The town is bisected by the old Illinois Central Railroad, now owned by the Canadian National Railway. The line runs from Chicago to New Orleans and continues as part of the AMTRAK system.
A main site of interest for decades has been the stretch of Illinois Avenue near the SIU campus known as "The Strip." The Strip has an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and bars that cater to both the local and SIU student population.
[edit] Activism & Reveling
In May 1970, a series of civil demonstrations took place on the campus of Southern Illinois University and in the town of Carbondale. Known as the "Days of May," these events led to the closing of campus for the remainder of the spring quarter. In response to the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings, on May 5, the Student Senate voted unanimously to boycott classes beginning the following day. On May 6, students marched through several academic buildings on campus and blocked traffic at University and Grand Avenue. That evening, students broke into two campus buildings, including the Vietnamese Studies Center, and later moved the demonstrations off campus onto Illinois Avenue. National Guardsmen were activated from around the state and stationed on campus May 7. On that day, thousands of students blocked the intersection of Main Street and South Illinois Avenue for more than two hours, while several students sat on the railroad tracks to block the passage of trains. On May 8, the city banned gatherings of five or more people. On May 12, Chancellor Robert MacVicar cancelled the remaining three days of classes in the quarter, and as a result many of the students slated to graduate that year did not walk through the ceremony. Some of those students were honored during graduation on the 25th anniversary of the riots, in 1995. [1]
Carbondale is also infamous for a series of civil altercations that have occurred on Halloween. "The Strip", as the main stretch of local businesses and bars is known in the city, has often been shut down on Halloween in order to quell the riotous, alcohol-inspired behavior.[2] Since 2000, the city has closed The Strip on Halloween with success and could relax the restrictions by 2009.[3] The riot activity has often been attributed to the presence of Southern Illinois University. In 2000, more than 100 arrests were made by multiple agencies. According to Carbondale Police Sgt. Paul Echols, many times it was an out-of-town person who incited the crowd, but SIUC students were always there to follow the example. One of the worst offenders was a Danville, Illinois resident visiting friends at the school. [4] Of the 29 arrests made by campus police, 14 were SIUC students.[5]
The city was the location for the controversial Green Party Congress in 2001.
[edit] Geography
Carbondale is located at 37°43'35" North, 89°13'13" West (37.726418, -89.220270)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.4 km² (12.1 mi²). 30.8 km² (11.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.06% water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 20,681 people, 9,981 households, and 3,493 families residing in the city. The population density is 671.6/km² (1,738.7/mi²). There are 10,968 housing units at an average density of 356.2/km² (922.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 66.08% White, 23.14% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 6.67% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.42% from other races, and 2.40% from two or more races. 3.05% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 9,981 households out of which 17.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.1% are married couples living together, 10.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 65.0% are non-families. 43.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.99 and the average family size is 2.78.
The age distribution, which is heavily influenced by the presence of SIU, is: 15.8% under the age of 18, 35.4% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 12.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 25 years, which is also fairly typical for a university town. For every 100 females there are 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 105.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $15,882, and the median income for a family is $34,601. Males have a median income of $30,217 versus $24,114 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,346. 41.4% of the population and 23.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 32.1% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. However, traditional measures of poverty can be misleading when applied to a community with a large proportion of students, such as Carbondale.
[edit] Outdoor Activities
Hiking:
Giant City State Park Little Grand Canyon Piney Creek Ravine
Kayaking/Canoeing:
Just five minutes south of Carbondale is the city reservoir, Cedar Lake, which is an outstanding place to kayak or canoe. The north access features several dramatic rock bluffs and interesting bays to explore. There are other lakes nearby, including Little Grassy, Devil's Kitchen, Crab Orchard and Kinkaid Lake. Another, more remote location is Cache River, which is the northern-most cypress swamp in North America.
[edit] Notable People
- Laurie Metcalf, actress on Roseanne, was born in Carbondale and grew up in Edwardsville, Illinois.
- Troy Hudson, point guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
- Shawn Colvin, singer-songwriter and winner of three Grammy Awards. While not born in Carbondale, Colvin spent her formative years there.
- Paul Gilbert, the guitarist of band Racer X, and formerly of the band Mr. Big.
[edit] Sister Cities
Tainai, Niigata, Japan (former town of Nakajo and the city of Carbondale became sister cities in the past)
Tainan City, Taiwan
Shimla, India
[edit] External links
- Official city website
- Southern Illinois University official website
- The Southern Illinoisan newspaper
- Southern Illinois University's Daily Egyptian newspaper
- Rock 105 TAO - The ROCK of Southern Illinois
- Crime Statistics for Carbondale
- Local Weather
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
