Harrisburg, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Harrisburg is a city and township in Saline County
, Illinois
, United States
. It is located about 57 miles (91.7 km) southwest of Evansville, Indiana
, 111 miles (178.6 km) southeast of St. Louis, Missouri
. The 2010 population was 9,017, with a township
population of 10,790. It is the county seat
of Saline County
. Harrisburg is included in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
and is the principal city in the Harrisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area
with a combined population of 24,913.
Located at the concurrency
of U.S. Route 45
, Illinois Route 13
, Illinois Route 145
, and Illinois Route 34
, Harrisburg is known as the "Gateway to the Shawnee National Forest
", and was made infamous for the Ohio River flood of 1937
, the old Crenshaw House (also known as the Old Slave House), the Tuttle Bottoms Monster
, and prohibition era gangster Charlie Birger. A Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
boomtown
, the city was one of the leading bituminous
coal mining
distribution hubs of the American Midwest between 1900 and 1937.
At its peak, Harrisburg had a population that reached 16,000 by the early 1930s. The city had one of the largest downtown districts in Southern Illinois, The city was the 20th most populated city in Illinois outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populous city in Southern Illinois outside of the metro east in 1930. However, the city has seen severe economic decline due to the decreased demand for high-sulfur coal
, the removal of the New York Central railroad, and tributary lowlands leaving much area around the city unfit for growth due to flood risks.
tribes, including the Shawnee and Piankashaw, who lived in the dense inland forests. Just prior to the arrival of white settlers, the Piankashaw tribe was driven out by the more aggressive Shawnee. European settlement in Illinois began with the French
from 1690 and reached its peak about 1750, mainly along the Mississippi River
. English speaking settlers arrived in 1790. The French came as merchants and missionaries, with farming supplementing the need for trade. The result had a benefited both the settlers and the Native Americans. The American migration, however, followed treaties which resulted in land being distributed through English Law
, ignoring previous indigenous rights. Encroachment ensued and caused hard feelings between the Indians and the settlers who moved into the interior and along migration routes. Many of the Indians allied themselves with the British
to resist, though trade with the Americans was an important reason why the Native Americans remained largely peaceful.
The town of Harrisburg was platted a few miles south of the junction of the Goshen
and Shawneetown-Kaskaskia roads, two of the first pioneer trade routes in the state. Prior to the war of 1812, most of the population of today's Saline County lived in cabins clustered around blockhouse
s to protect against Indian attack and dangerous wildlife such as wild cats and bears. Permanent settlements in the forested area were inevitable with the influx of more settlers, and the first land entry was made in 1814 by John Wren and Hankerson Rude. By 1840 the settlers outnumbered the Native Americans, and most of the Black Bear
population of the county had been killed off by 1845.
, Harrisburg was plotted shortly after Saline County was established in 1847 from part of Gallatin County
. The city was named for James Alexander Harris, who had built the infamous farmhouse and planted a corn field in a clearing in the area of the current city square around 1820.
Harris along with John Pankey, James P. Yandell, and John X. Cain, donated land for the first additions of the town to a special committee at Liberty Baptist Church in 1852, after complaints that the county seat should be centralized in the county. The county seat then was in Raleigh
. The county's two main population centers were divided by the Saline River and 14 miles (22.5 km) of thicket
. There were no roads in the county and many residents from the areas of Carrier Mills
and Stonefort
became lost when traveling to the northern settlements or Raleigh
, Galatia
, and Eldorado
. The designated town plat was considered due to its aesthetic properties, a 60 feet (18.3 m) sandstone
bluff
overlooking the Saline River
valley called "Crusoe's Island". Although it was heavily timbered with oak and hickory with an impenetrable hazel underbrush, the site was at the geographical center of the county. A major legal battle took place within the county government because of voter fraud accusations by the people of Raleigh. Nevertheless, Harrisburg was plotted as a village on 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) in 1853 and became the county seat in 1859.
, Harrisburg was one of the few cities in the Upland South
during this time to have woolen mills, making the town an industrial asset early on to Southern Illinois. Several planing mill
s and flour mills also dotted the city. The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
was completed in 1872 by Ambrose Burnside
, and American Civil War
, Union Army
, brigadier general
Green Berry Raum, who was living in Harrisburg at that time.
Robert King, an early proprietor, opened a brick and tile factory at the southern terminus of Main Street in 1896 with the capacity of carrying out 15,000 bricks every 10 hours. Harrisburg also saw the opening of several saw mills. The Snellbaker and Company Saw Mill and Lumber Yard opened in 1895, as well did J.B Ford Harrisburg Planing Mill the same year. The mill had the capacity of producing 10000 board feet (23.6 m³) of lumber every 10 hours. The Barnes Lumber Company in Harrisburg started as a sawmill operation in 1899. Since 1904 it has retailed a complete line of lumber and building materials and is the oldest, currently active mill in the city.
The Woolcott Milling Company, operated by J.H Woolcott and J.C Wilson built a flour mill in 1874, on the now defunct south Woolcott Street, with rail spur, behind the current Parker Plaza, that had 23 grain elevators and the capacity of carrying out 200 barrels of flour in a 24 hour period and up to 400 by 1907 with a new 75,000 bushel tower. The exchange market was located in Carrier Mills
. Located on Commercial Street across the tracks from the train depot, The Southern Illinois Milling & Elevator Company was incorporated on July 29, 1891 by Philip H. Eisenmayer, with a capital stock of $50,000. The company had two elevators, erected at a cost of $125,000, one of which had a capacity of 25,000 bushels and the other a capacity of 100,000 bushels. Their milling capacity was six hundred barrels per day. Twenty-five men were employed in the operations of the mill and elevators, in addition to a force of from six to eight men regularly employed in the cooperage department.
During the Reconstruction Era, as economic conditions made impractical the growing of cotton, tobacco and lumbering which pioneers found profitable commercial, grain farming by crop rotation, dairying, reforestation, merchandising and manufacturing and the most prevalent, Coal mining
began to occupy the city. In 1889, with a population of 1,500, Harrisburg became a city, with an aldermanic form of government. It adopted the commission form in 1915. Despite these early industrial advantages to other cities in the region, the Sanborn Map company still referred to the water facilities and road conditions within the city limits, "Not good, and not paved" up to 1900.
city. The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
was completed in 1872 and provided transportation for coal and the miners who tired away underground. After a series of corporate transactions brought the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
into the hands of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway around 1890, with Illinois state representative Charles P Skaggs as mayor, Harrisburg evolved into one of the leading coal-mining centers of the Midwest. Harrisburg was a strategic spot on the railroad route with a large hump yard, making it the focal point for the most productive coal field operations. Some of the most profitable coal companies that operated around Harrisburg were Big Creek Coal, Harrisburg Coal and O'Gara Coal. Each one with their own sizable rail yards. O'gara was a Progressive Era
coal company owned by Thomas J. O'gara of Chicago. He purchased and annexed 23 privately owned mines in the Harrisburg coal field which equaled 50000 acres (202.3 km²) of land. The Company based its headquarters in Harrisburg in 1905. O'gara only owned 12 operating mines, all in Saline County, but they had an annual output of 7,000,000 tons. 6,000 men were employed in a field capacity and the pay roll disbursement was $150,000 per month. The company paid $10,000 monthly royalty. H. Thomas was the company's general manager of mines, Ed Ghent its chief engineer and D. B. McGehee the assistant general manager.
By 1905, several small slope mines and 15 shaft mines operated in the county. Most were along the railroad line. Large numbers of immigrants from England
, Wales
, and eastern Europe
, looking for work, detrained at the Harrisburg Train Depot; crowding around quickly expanding mining villages directly outside of the city, such as Muddy
and Ledford
. The city's population quickly expanded from 5,000 to 10,000 in a few short years. By 1906, the Big four/CCC&STL Railroad became the New York Central, and Saline County was producing more than 500,000 tons of coal annually with more than 5000 miners at work. In 1915 the Ringling Brothers Circus
made an appearance in Harrisburg. In 1913 the Southern Illinois Railway and Power Company operated a interurban
trolley line, that ran from downtown Eldorado
, into Muddy
, Wasson, Beulah Heights, through downtown Harrisburg, Dorrisville, Ledford
and into downtown Carrier Mills
, all of which had larger residential areas than present. In 1917 there were plans to extend the line westward to Marion
and Carbondale
to connect to the Coal Belt Co. line, and then run it towards St. Louis. The trolley wire through the county was 16 feet (5 m) high. It was an off branch of the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
. The corporation erected the first electrical generating plant in Muddy, IL.
The Central Illinois Public Service Company
purchased the Muddy Power Station in 1916, it had a generating capacity of 7,500 kilowatts. After removing an original 2,500-kilowatt unit, the company added two 5,000-kilowatt turbine-generators and one 10,000 kilowatt unit, bringing the stations total capacity to 25,000 kilowatts in 1922. Electricity generated at the station was distributed over 66-kv, double circuit steel tower transmission lines extending to West Frankfort
to the west, the Ohio River
to the east, and Olney
to the north. The plant had two impounding reservoirs which covered 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) and held 320 million gallons of water.
The community benefited from the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties
, flaunting the most extravagant displays of wealth in the city's history. The 230 feet (70.1 m) neon
red tower belonging to the WEBQ-A.M. radio station, was the tallest structure in the city and could be seen for miles. Harrisburg had just finished the new three-story Horning Hotel around 1920, and two new theaters with a combined total of 1,600 seats; the Orpheum and the Grand the same year. The eight-story Harrisburg National Bank building, the O'gara Coal Headquarters, the Cummings Office building, and the four-story Harrisburg Hospital were all built in 1923. A new four-story city hall building was constructed in 1927, and a complex highway system was constructed through the city, with Illinois Route 13
and Illinois Route 34
constructed in 1918; U.S. Route 45
and Illinois Route 145
constructed in 1925-1926. During this time the city expanded to 15,000 people with large homes and mansions erected around the business district. The Annexation of Dorrisville and Dorris Heights created blue collar, multiple, and single family homes filling in between. On Vine Street south of the town square was "Wiskey Chute", a saloon vice district
for local miners. It was also during this time that the town was home to prohibition
-era bootlegger Charles Birger
, whose gang was said to have protected local business owners better than the law enforcement. For a time, the gangster's prized Tommy gun
was displayed in a glass case in the City Hall. The geography around Harrisburg changed indefinitely, with coal areas producing a surface mining
landscape the size of San Jose, California
, roughly 172 sq mi (445.5 km²), aptly named The Harrisburg Coal Field. The field completely encased the towns of Carrier Mills and Harrisburg, while creating partial borders to Stonefort, Galatia, and Raleigh. Near the mines were gob piles that spontaneously combusted. The horizon around the city for many years flickered with burning coal refuse.
. Even with the economic downturn during the Great depression
, with business owners and industrial firms closing shop, the city continued to thrive due to its enormous coal industry. On June 17, 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt
visited Harrisburg to observe work of the WPA and delivered a speech in the packed High School gymnasium. The heyday ended quickly when the Ohio River flood of 1937
left 4,000 within the city homeless and 80% of the city inundated. Many flooded mines were deemed condemned which left the local economy crippled. In 1938, the state of Illinois had completed one of the largest operations of its kind ever attempted in the United States, the removal of more than two and a half billion gallons of flood water from Sahara mine No. 3. Soon the Southern Illinois Railway and Power company was bought by the Central Illinois Public Service Company
. The inter-urban line was abandoned in 1933 after 20 years of service. After the decommission of the Interurban line, Harrisburg opened the Harrisburg-Dorrisville Bus Co., which was a private predecessor bus company to the current Rides Mass Transit District which was opened in 1980. Between 1930 and 1940 the city lost 27% of its overall population.
Immediately after World War II
new coal companies, Peabody, Bluebird, and Sahara starting mining within the city. The war created a great demand for energy, which was satisfied by expanded strip mining operations throughout the Harrisburg Coal Fields. Shortly after World War II, it became clear that coal was losing favor to other energy sources such as oil and natural gas. In contrast to other cities in the United States that prospered in the post-war boom, the fortunes of Saline County began to quickly diminish. Harry Truman stopped briefly in Harrisburg during his whistlestop tour in Sept. 30, 1948, giving some hope for economic recovery for the region. Without hesitating, the long parade of police, buses, and accompanying cars sped through town. Poplar street
, at that time the main drag through town, was crowded with multitudes of persons for its entire length. It was reported by the Daily Register Newspaper that cars were lined along Route 13 all the way from Marion
and on to Eldorado
on Route 45. In 1950 Assistant State Attorney General of Illinois, George N. Leighton
, Represented parents in a proceeding which desegregated the public schools of Harrisburg. On December 1, 1953, WSIL-TV
3 was founded and based out of the city. The station built the 503 ft (153.4m), WSIL tower in downtown which was one of the tallest television towers in the state at the time and is still the tallest structure in the city.
By 1957, the Egyptian was the last passenger train to travel through the city. Between 1940 and 1960 Harrisburg lost another 20% of its population due to economic standstill. With only 9100 people left in the city that once had 16,000, then Senator John F. Kennedy
made a campaign stop on October 3, 1960. Speaking at the Saline County Court House he said
Later during the same speech after addressing agriculture Senator Kennedy stated
By 1968 with hopes of bringing a new influx of coal mining into the city, Sahara Coal Company ordered the Bucyrus-Eerie
"GEM of Egypt
" strip mine shovel, one of the largest in the world at 8-stories high and weighing 1,000 tons. It took three men to operate it, and its bucket capacity was 30 cubic yards. Even with such great efforts coal mining continued to dwindle within the community. The train depot was razed in 1972 and all coal freight was ordered out of the Harrisburg Hump Yard by 1973. During the 1970s and 1980s, many of the city-square storefronts and mini-plazas became vacant and were slowly abandoned as large Chain stores and Strip malls on Commercial Street
became the dominant venues for shopping and entertainment, hoping to bring an influx of travelers from the main highway.
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 legislation forced many utility companies in the United states to switch to low-sulfur coal. In response Harrisburg's already waning economy took a severe downturn. The freight yard closed in 1982, Sahara Coal company shut down operations in 1993, 865 jobs were lost in the county that year. This ended the reign of big coal in Harrisburg, a way of life for residents for over 100 years. The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
/Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway
system tracks were taken up in the late 1980s and replaced by the Tunnel Hill State Trail
in 1996.
An estimated 200 billion tons of coal are estimated to lie underground in the state of Illinois
. Currently only 38 billion tons of that coal can be recovered economically.
, Murder in Little Egypt. Soon Pioneer history was showcased at the Saline County Area Historical Museum on the city's southern edge. The 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) site includes the three-story high Old Pauper Home, which was once part of the county's 170 acre (0.6879662 km²) poor farm, built in 1877. The site also features a variety of cabins, a one-room school house, a small church and other historic buildings that have been acquired, moved to the site and restored.
The Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport is located approximately four miles north of Harrisburg on Highway 34. The Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport Authority operates the airport. The Airport has two runways—32/14 and 6/24. Runway 24 includes a new, 1000 feet (304.8 m) extension, bringing the runway to 5000 feet (1,524 m), and a GPS-RNAV approach.
Two industrial zones were set up within the township in 1974 by the Saline County Industrial Development Co., one located in Dorrisville, and the other located near the Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport. The one in Dorrisville had the advantage of rail spur prior to the removal of the New York Central tracks. A Tax Increment Finance district was built on the property of the old rail yard north of the city where the Harrisburg Professional Park was built.
The current industrial base within the city, while most are not coal related, give opportunity to a number of city residents. American Coal and Arclar, the only two coal mines in the county are producing low sulfer coal as an energy resource. Kerr-McGee
Coal Corporation's Galatia Complex was purchased by the American Coal Company in 1998. American Coal employs about 580 workers, while Arclar employs 175 persons. Nationwide Glove Factory is currently employing 225 persons, and American Needle is second largest non coal company with 125 workers. Southern Truss and Harrisburg Truss companies employ together 100 employees manufacturing building components.
In 2008 construction on the Harrisburg Wal-Mart
Supercenter was completed. Wal-Mart will gave $21,950 in grants to the Anna Bixby Women's Center, Bridge Medical Clinic, CASA of Saline County, Harrisburg District Library, Harrisburg Police Department, Harvest Deliverance Center Food Pantry, Regional Superintendent of Schools, Saline County Senior Citizens Council and Saline County Sheriff's Department. The building is 184000 square feet (17,094.2 m²) and added 150 new jobs to the county. The Supercenter is now the second-largest employer in the city with 340 employees on its payroll. A new strip mall was completed on the south side of town, and Parker Plaza, the oldest shopping center in town was renovated with a new facade to promote commercial growth in the city.
To this day Harrisburg is, not only the seat, but the retail
hub of Saline County
. It holds the nearest shopping centers, restaurants, banks, and other commerce within miles. But industrial jobs are scarce. In 2010, the chief deputy of the Harrisburg Police Department, who was also the President of the school board, was arrested for sexually assaulting a high school student
To make things worse economically for Harrisburg, Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
's decision to move a division of I-DOT
to Southern Illinois was overturned by his successor Pat Quinn
. The decision outraged lawmakers in Springfield. A lawsuit was filed to stop the move to Harrisburg. Matters were exacerbated by videos of the new home for the IDOT traffic safety division, the old Allen Miller car dealership building, which now houses the Southeastern Illinois College Foundation Center. Was surrounded by water surfaced on YouTube late 2007.
In December 2010 Harrisburg's AMC
, formerly Cinema 4 theater closed its doors to the public indefinitely. This is the first time Harrisburg has been without a cinema since 1920. Even AMC was unaware of the future of the building at the time of its closing. Justin Scott, an AMC spokesman wrote in an e-mail message to the public, "We own the building, however no decisions have been made yet about its future."
After release of the 2010 census, in February 2011, the city learned its population had dropped to a low of 9,017 people, an 8.5 percent decrease. It was lowest population since the pre-coal boom of 1900.
, there were 9,017 people living within the city limits. Of the 8,765 persons who identified with one race, 7,983 (88.5%) were white, 589 (6.5%) were black or African-American, 45 American Indian, 74 Asian, 8 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders, and 66 who claimed some other race. The Hispanic population was 209 (2.3 percent). There were 4,193 total housing units; 3,753 (89.5%) were occupied and 440 (10.5%) vacant.
, the city has a total area of 6.4 square miles (16.6 km²), of which 6.2 square miles (16.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (2.19%) is water. The square in the center of town, as well as Dorrisville and Gaskins City, stand on top of a series of sandstone
bluffs
that were once islands rising above natural lowlands, 338 feet (103 m) above sea level, dredged by the middle fork of the Saline River
. The Saline River was a navigable river used by early settlers for transportation to and from Salt Works just east of Harrisburg. The Saline flowed towards the Ohio
and flooded every spring in events called Freshet
s. The locals called the island "Crusoe's Island". When the area was drained, homes and businesses were built in the floodplain, and it became prone to serious flooding for years to come. The town square in the center of town is a sandstone
bluff
410 feet (125 m) above sea level, one of the first that start the Shawnee Hills
to the south. Topographic maps show the bluffs that rise from the Saline River that wraps the northeast part of the city. Harrisburg is located at the ending point of the Laurentide ice sheet
, which covered about 85 percent of Illinois. The edge of Illinoian ice sheet(s) lay further south than the southernmost extent, i.e. Douglas County, Kansas
, of any of the Pre-Illinoian ice sheets.
After the 5.5 Richter Scale magnitude 1968 Illinois earthquake
, scientists realized that there was a previously unknown fault under Saline County, just north of Eldorado, Illinois
near Harrisburg. This fault is called the Cottage Grove Fault, a small tear in the Earth's rock running west–east, in the Southern Illinois Basin. The fault is connected to the north–south trending Wabash Valley Fault System at its eastern end. Seismographic mapping completed by geologists reveal that monocline
s, anticline
s, and syncline
s are present within the region; these signs suggest deformation during the Paleozoic era coincident to strike-slip faulting nearby.
A focal mechanism
solution of the earthquake confirmed two nodal planes both striking north-south and dipping approximately 45 degrees to the east and to the west. This faulting suggests dip slip reverse motion, and to a horizontal east-west axis of confining stress. The rupture also occurred partially on the New Madrid Fault, responsible for the great New Madrid earthquakes in 1812, consisting of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the contiguous United States
.
During the early 1900s, urbanization
of the city due to the geographical feature of "Cruesoe's Island" and surrounding coal mining property created a density not seen in many cities of its size. The city at the time with a population nearing 10,000 was forced to tightly cram homes and businesses upon the sandstone outcropping less than a square mile in diameter leading many to build their buildings with multiple stories around the town square. The Saline County
courthouse and square have gone through many transformations within the past 100 years. In the 1800s the town had dirt streets with a large Greek Revival court house with Doric columns. The courthouse was then replaced in 1906 with larger building designed by then well known architect John W. Gaddis
of Vincennes, Indiana
. The structure was an identical model to the Perry County Courthouse at Perryville, Missouri
, both built the same year. A smaller version of the central clock tower of the courthouse, including the original clock, manufactured by the Howard Clock Company
, of Boston Massachusetts in 1904 was recreated in 1996, and placed in a small lot behind the Clearwave
Building's parking lot. The Howard clock company was notable for manufacturing large clocks in such buildings as the Wrigley Building
in Chicago, Illinois, and the Ferry Building
in San Francisco, California
. The town square was completely surrounded by brick streets in 1906. Harrisburg had 25 miles (40.2 km) of brick streets, but now only a few blocks are left.
Unlike Eldorado
, Harrisburg has not yet begun a National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street
historical preservation program. Saline County is within a recognized historical district, the "Ohio River Route Where Illinois Began". Only two buildings in Harrisburg are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, those being the City Hall and the Saline County Poor Farm.
The square itself held an array of Coal mining offices, privately owned business, grocery and department stores, pharmacies and bars. During the closing of the coal mining era most of the businesses left the square and moved to the main drag of Rt. 45
, constructed in 1926. The courthouse built by John W. Gaddis
was replaced with a modern, more efficient building in 1967 after the older building was condemned. Over the years, the architecture that graced Harrisburg square has slowly turned to rotting older structures mixed in with a hodge-podge of newer updated buildings. Currently there are a few privately owned downtown renovation projects under way on and around the square.
The Harrisburg Mitchell-Carnegie Library
, located on Church Street south of the square and built with a grant from Andrew Carnegie
, was built in 1908 and opened to the public in 1909. The building served the community until 2000 when the library was moved to a new building on north Main Street. During the 1937 flood
, the library was used as a make-shift hospital until the water boiler burst. The building now serves as a church.
Harrisburg has three city parks. Memorial Park, Gaskins City Park, and Dorris Heights Park. Memorial Park, on the west end of town, is the largest with the city park pool and a large lagoon snaking through the center, founded in 1935.
The sunset lawn cemetery is the largest in the county, founded in 1880, connected to the west edge of the city. The cemetery
contains ornate tombstones and crypts, within are the remains of most of the city's original founders and prominent residents. Sunset lawn contained the 90-year-old Sunset Mausoleum. The crypt had marble floors with 75 person's buried inside. The structure was condemned in 2008 and there were plans of removal of the bodies and reburial within the cemetery, but there was a problem of finding many of the family members.,
In May 2010, on 301 N. Granger St. The 1895 home of city bricklayer and early proprietor Robert King was set to be demolished. The homeowners donated it to Saline County Habitat for Humanity last year hoping the organization might be able to restore it. The home was considered "Unrestorable".
(Koppen climate classification
Dfa) and humid subtropical climate
(Koppen climate classification
Cfa), and has neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. Both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico
affect the region. The city has four distinct seasons. The highest average temperature is in July at 89°F (20°C), while the lowest average temperature is 22°F (-6°C) in January. However, summer temperatures can top 100 °F (42 °C), and winter temperatures can drop below 0 °F (−17 °C). Average monthly precipitation ranges from 3 to 5 inches (127 mm), with the heaviest occurring during late fall. Snowfall, which normally occurs from November to April, ranges from 1 to 7 inches (177.8 mm) per month. The highest recorded temperature was 113 °F (45 °C) on July 13, 1936, and the lowest recorded temperature was recorded was on February 2, 1951 at -23.0 °F (-31.0 °C)
causing back flow of the middle fork of the Saline River
has plagued Harrisburg over the years. The city was flooded in 1883-1884 and again in 1913. The most severe came during the Ohio River flood of 1937
when much of the city, except "Crusoes' Island", a downtown orbit that encircled the town square, was underwater. Water reached 30 miles (48.3 km) from the river because the town was isolated by high water in tributary lowlands. 10,000 out of the 16,000 residents were left stranded on the crowded "island" for weeks, while the other 80% of Harrisburg was completely inundated. By the time the flood waters receded 4000 were left homeless. Between Gallatin County
and Harrisburg, some 25 miles (40.2 km) in distance, Illinois Route 13
was under 8 to 14 ft (2.4 to 4.3 m) of water; motorboats navigated the entire distance to rescue marooned families. National guard boats were the means of transportation in the city and several thousand people were transported daily from temporary island to island. According to the Sanborn
Map Company Harrisburg in October 1925 had a population of 15,000 and in a revised version by January 1937 the population had dropped to 13,000. After that, a levee
was erected north and east of the city to protect it from future floods. The levee became the unofficial northern and eastern border of the town. No businesses or residences exist in the Saline River
Middle Fork floodplain
s. Flooding proceeded in January 1982 due to drainage problems from the frozen ground, and in 1983, due to 8 inches (203.2 mm) of rain. The Pankey Branch pumping system, on the east side of town, was built to handle flooding from the Saline River
only and has serious complex watershed dynamic problems, causing continual water backup within the levee during large rain events. The city rebuilt a new pumping system and requested the Army Corps of Engineers to certify the levee.
), were hardest hit. Kroger
, which had just undergone a major renovation, reportedly had 2 foot (0.6096 m) or more of water inside. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
denied flood recovery grants and loans to Illinois
. Flooding in the town was being called the worst flooding in 71 years.
lie to the south of Harrisburg, drawing thousands of visitors annually to the Saline County area and the gateway community. The Shawnee National Forest offers much to see and do. The national forest has 1250 miles (2,011.7 km) of roadways, some 150 miles (241.4 km) of streams and frequent waterfalls, numerous ponds and lakes as large as 2700 acres (10.9 km²) (some with swimming beaches), 13 campgrounds, many picnicking sites, and seven wilderness areas where trails are designed for hiking and horseback riding.
Plant life is extremely diverse and ranges from sun-loving species to those that grow in dense shade. Tree cover dominates the publicly owned acreage, and is a significant component on privately owned lands. Oak-hickory is the predominant timber type, however, many other commercially important timber species also occupy significant acreages. More than 500 wildlife species can be found in the Forest, including 48 mammals, 237 birds, 52 reptiles, 57 amphibians, and 109 species of fish. There are seven federally listed threatened and endangered species that inhabit the Forest, as well as 33 species which are considered regionally sensitive, and 114 Forest-listed species.
When the Shawnee Purchase Units were first established, temporary headquarters were set up in Room 303, First Trust and Savings Bank Building, Harrisburg, Illinois. This was the only modern office building in the town of Harrisburg suitable for headquarters, and the forest has continued to occupy this building as Supervisor's offices. Expansion of the offices has continued since 1933, until today (June, 1938), ten rooms on the third floor, and four rooms on the fourth floor, are leased by the Forest Service. Employees who were here during the early days of the forest tell of the chaos and confusion caused by the small space under lease, the incoming shipments of equipment and supplies, and the constant inflow of new personnel.
. It is the major daily newspaper serving Harrisburg, Saline County, and distributes to Paducah, Kentucky
, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
, and Mount Vernon, Illinois
. The second major newspaper is the Eldorado Daily Journal, based out of Eldorado
. Newspapers are also delivered into the city from as far away as Evansville
, Chicago, and St. Louis
.
Harrisburg has one television station licensed directly to the city; WSIL-TV
. Broadcasting on channel 3, it is the ABC
affiliate for a wide area of southern Illinois, western Kentucky and southeastern Missouri. The station's studios reside in nearby Carterville
. There is one major AM broadcasting station in Harrisburg, WEBQ 1240, a now country music station that has broadcast news and music to the region since the 1930s. WOOZ 99.9 FM Z100 has the trademark Today's Best Country is also based in the city.
with a mayor and council form of government. The city has four main council members. The city has a Police Department that shares a building with the Sheriff's department with 13 sworn officers and a civilian secretary. There are 7 full-time firefighters and 15 on-call members and a trained Emergency Medical Technician working for the Harrisburg Fire Department, working out of a central station. It has three fire trucks, a 65 feet (19.8 m) snorkel, a rescue truck, a 4x4 brush truck, and a 2,000-gallon tanker truck.
The City of Harrisburg operates its own water distribution system. It has a storage capacity of 6,000,000 gallons in elevated tanks. The water processing plant has a capacity of 4,000,000 per day, while average daily consumption is about 2,500,000 gallons. The city's water treatment plant has a design capacity of 3,125,000 gallons per day. Its average load is 1,200,000 gallons per day.
Harrisburg Hospital was at one time located in a four story complex one block from the town square, but in the 1990s moved to Harrisburg Medical Center where 78 beds and 34 physicians are on staff. It also has an 18-bed psychiatric area. In 1995, the hospital completed a multimillion dollar expansion and renovation program. There are 25 nursing homes in the Harrisburg and southeastern Illinois area. Three are located within the city. Harrisburg also has several clinics and specialized physicians have offices within the city.
Harrisburg Community Unit School District 3 serves the city's student population with two K-6 elementary schools, a junior high school, and a senior high school. More than 2,300 students are enrolled in the district's schools. More than 1,300 students attend East Side and West Side Elementary schools. Malan Junior High was the main middle school for the city until 2005 when the new middle school was built in Liberty, which has 300 students enrolled. Harrisburg High School has more than 600 students enrolled. The city also has seven preschools and daycare centers. Harrisburg once had several schools within the township before the different neighborhoods were annexed, all are now closed down, a few are, Horace Mann, McKinley School, Bayliss School, Phillips School, and Ledford school.
is a 2-year junior college
that sits on a 148 acres (59.9 ha) campus east of the city limits. 60,000 residents of Saline, Gallatin, Hardin, and Pope Counties and portions of four other counties. SIC enrolls more than 2,000 students each semester in college transfer and career education programs. SIC was founded in 1960. Other nearby local colleges and universities are Southern Illinois University
campus at Carbondale Rend Lake College
, at Ina; Eastern Illinois University
, at Charleston, Shawnee Community College
at Vienna, and the University of Evansville
, at Evansville, Indiana.
Motsinger, Virgil (1933) Member of the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame. IBCA Hall of Fame, Mckendree College Hall of Fame and Southeastern Illinois College Hall of Fame.
Saline County, Illinois
Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 24,913, which is a decrease of 6.8% from 26,733 in 2000. Its county seat is Harrisburg. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located about 57 miles (91.7 km) southwest of Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, 111 miles (178.6 km) southeast of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. The 2010 population was 9,017, with a township
Harrisburg Township, Saline County, Illinois
Harrisburg Township is located in Saline County, Illinois. The population was 10,790 at the 2010 census.- External links :***...
population of 10,790. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Saline County
Saline County, Illinois
Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 24,913, which is a decrease of 6.8% from 26,733 in 2000. Its county seat is Harrisburg. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States....
. Harrisburg is included in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
The Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky Tri-State Area is a tri-state area where the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky intersect. The area is defined mainly by the television viewing area and consists of ten Illinois counties, eleven Indiana counties, and nine Kentucky counties...
and is the principal city in the Harrisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area
Harrisburg, Illinois Micropolitan Statistical Area
The Harrisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of one county in southern Illinois, anchored by the city of Harrisburg.As of the 2000 census, the μSA had a population of 26,733....
with a combined population of 24,913.
Located at the concurrency
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...
of U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45 is a north–south United States highway. US 45 is a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as ....
, Illinois Route 13
Illinois Route 13
Illinois Route 13 is a major east–west state route in southern Illinois. Illinois 13 has its western terminus at Centreville at Illinois Route 157 and its eastern terminus at the Kentucky state line and the Ohio River, at Kentucky Route 56. This is a distance of .- Route description :Illinois...
, Illinois Route 145
Illinois Route 145
Illinois Route 145 is a north–south state road in southern Illinois. It splits off from U.S. Route 45 near Metropolis and runs north, rejoining U.S. 45 in Harrisburg...
, and Illinois Route 34
Illinois Route 34
Illinois Route 34 is a north–south state road in southern Illinois. It runs from a former ferry crossing to Kentucky Route 297 across the Ohio River in Rosiclare to Illinois Routes 14/37 in Benton. This is a distance of .- Route description :...
, Harrisburg is known as the "Gateway to the Shawnee National Forest
Shawnee National Forest
The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 280,000 acres of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac...
", and was made infamous for the Ohio River flood of 1937
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
, the old Crenshaw House (also known as the Old Slave House), the Tuttle Bottoms Monster
Tuttle Bottoms Monster
The Tuttle Bottoms Monster is a legendary creature said to inhabit a swampy area, north of Harrisburg, Illinois on the Saline River watershed, usually described as ape-like and hairy with a long snout similar to an anteater.-Reports:...
, and prohibition era gangster Charlie Birger. A Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and...
boomtown
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
, the city was one of the leading bituminous
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
distribution hubs of the American Midwest between 1900 and 1937.
At its peak, Harrisburg had a population that reached 16,000 by the early 1930s. The city had one of the largest downtown districts in Southern Illinois, The city was the 20th most populated city in Illinois outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populous city in Southern Illinois outside of the metro east in 1930. However, the city has seen severe economic decline due to the decreased demand for high-sulfur coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, the removal of the New York Central railroad, and tributary lowlands leaving much area around the city unfit for growth due to flood risks.
Pioneer and native coexistence
At the beginning of recorded American history, the Harrisburg area was inhabited by several AlgonquianAlgonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
tribes, including the Shawnee and Piankashaw, who lived in the dense inland forests. Just prior to the arrival of white settlers, the Piankashaw tribe was driven out by the more aggressive Shawnee. European settlement in Illinois began with the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from 1690 and reached its peak about 1750, mainly along the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. English speaking settlers arrived in 1790. The French came as merchants and missionaries, with farming supplementing the need for trade. The result had a benefited both the settlers and the Native Americans. The American migration, however, followed treaties which resulted in land being distributed through English Law
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
, ignoring previous indigenous rights. Encroachment ensued and caused hard feelings between the Indians and the settlers who moved into the interior and along migration routes. Many of the Indians allied themselves with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to resist, though trade with the Americans was an important reason why the Native Americans remained largely peaceful.
The town of Harrisburg was platted a few miles south of the junction of the Goshen
Goshen Road
The Goshen Road was an early road that ran from Old Shawneetown, Illinois, on the Ohio River, northwest to the Goshen Settlement, near Glen Carbon, Illinois, near the Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, this was the main east/west road in Illinois....
and Shawneetown-Kaskaskia roads, two of the first pioneer trade routes in the state. Prior to the war of 1812, most of the population of today's Saline County lived in cabins clustered around blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
s to protect against Indian attack and dangerous wildlife such as wild cats and bears. Permanent settlements in the forested area were inevitable with the influx of more settlers, and the first land entry was made in 1814 by John Wren and Hankerson Rude. By 1840 the settlers outnumbered the Native Americans, and most of the Black Bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
population of the county had been killed off by 1845.
Controversial founding
Founded at the start of the Second Industrial RevolutionSecond Industrial Revolution
The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of the larger Industrial Revolution corresponding to the latter half of the 19th century until World War I...
, Harrisburg was plotted shortly after Saline County was established in 1847 from part of Gallatin County
Gallatin County, Illinois
Gallatin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 5,589, which is a decrease of 13.3% from 6,445 in 2000...
. The city was named for James Alexander Harris, who had built the infamous farmhouse and planted a corn field in a clearing in the area of the current city square around 1820.
Harris along with John Pankey, James P. Yandell, and John X. Cain, donated land for the first additions of the town to a special committee at Liberty Baptist Church in 1852, after complaints that the county seat should be centralized in the county. The county seat then was in Raleigh
Raleigh, Illinois
Raleigh is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 330 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Raleigh is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land.-History:...
. The county's two main population centers were divided by the Saline River and 14 miles (22.5 km) of thicket
Thicket
A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large amounts of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in the shelter of the maternal plants.In some conditions the...
. There were no roads in the county and many residents from the areas of Carrier Mills
Carrier Mills, Illinois
Carrier Mills, formerly Carriers Mills and Morrilsville, also known as Catskin, is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,886 at the 2000 census. Carrier Mills was named after George Washington Carrier and his saw and grist mill, and was one of the early Cairo...
and Stonefort
Stonefort, Illinois
Stonefort is a village in Saline and Williamson counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 297 at the 2010 census. Stonefort school system merged with Carrier Mills, and is platted on the face of a bluff or Stonefort Bluff.-Geography:...
became lost when traveling to the northern settlements or Raleigh
Raleigh, Illinois
Raleigh is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 330 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Raleigh is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land.-History:...
, Galatia
Galatia, Illinois
Galatia is a village in Saline County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 933.-Geography:Galatia is located at ....
, and Eldorado
Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,...
. The designated town plat was considered due to its aesthetic properties, a 60 feet (18.3 m) sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
bluff
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
overlooking the Saline River
Saline River (Illinois)
The Saline River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in the Southern Illinois region of the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of southeast Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The major tributaries include the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork, all...
valley called "Crusoe's Island". Although it was heavily timbered with oak and hickory with an impenetrable hazel underbrush, the site was at the geographical center of the county. A major legal battle took place within the county government because of voter fraud accusations by the people of Raleigh. Nevertheless, Harrisburg was plotted as a village on 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) in 1853 and became the county seat in 1859.
Industrial origins
Between 1860 and 1865 southern cotton became unavailable during the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Harrisburg was one of the few cities in the Upland South
Upland South
The terms Upper South and Upland South refer to the northern part of the Southern United States, in contrast to the Lower South or Deep South.-Geography:There is a slight difference in usage between the two terms...
during this time to have woolen mills, making the town an industrial asset early on to Southern Illinois. Several planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
s and flour mills also dotted the city. The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and...
was completed in 1872 by Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
, and American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Green Berry Raum, who was living in Harrisburg at that time.
Robert King, an early proprietor, opened a brick and tile factory at the southern terminus of Main Street in 1896 with the capacity of carrying out 15,000 bricks every 10 hours. Harrisburg also saw the opening of several saw mills. The Snellbaker and Company Saw Mill and Lumber Yard opened in 1895, as well did J.B Ford Harrisburg Planing Mill the same year. The mill had the capacity of producing 10000 board feet (23.6 m³) of lumber every 10 hours. The Barnes Lumber Company in Harrisburg started as a sawmill operation in 1899. Since 1904 it has retailed a complete line of lumber and building materials and is the oldest, currently active mill in the city.
The Woolcott Milling Company, operated by J.H Woolcott and J.C Wilson built a flour mill in 1874, on the now defunct south Woolcott Street, with rail spur, behind the current Parker Plaza, that had 23 grain elevators and the capacity of carrying out 200 barrels of flour in a 24 hour period and up to 400 by 1907 with a new 75,000 bushel tower. The exchange market was located in Carrier Mills
Carrier Mills, Illinois
Carrier Mills, formerly Carriers Mills and Morrilsville, also known as Catskin, is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,886 at the 2000 census. Carrier Mills was named after George Washington Carrier and his saw and grist mill, and was one of the early Cairo...
. Located on Commercial Street across the tracks from the train depot, The Southern Illinois Milling & Elevator Company was incorporated on July 29, 1891 by Philip H. Eisenmayer, with a capital stock of $50,000. The company had two elevators, erected at a cost of $125,000, one of which had a capacity of 25,000 bushels and the other a capacity of 100,000 bushels. Their milling capacity was six hundred barrels per day. Twenty-five men were employed in the operations of the mill and elevators, in addition to a force of from six to eight men regularly employed in the cooperage department.
During the Reconstruction Era, as economic conditions made impractical the growing of cotton, tobacco and lumbering which pioneers found profitable commercial, grain farming by crop rotation, dairying, reforestation, merchandising and manufacturing and the most prevalent, Coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
began to occupy the city. In 1889, with a population of 1,500, Harrisburg became a city, with an aldermanic form of government. It adopted the commission form in 1915. Despite these early industrial advantages to other cities in the region, the Sanborn Map company still referred to the water facilities and road conditions within the city limits, "Not good, and not paved" up to 1900.
Coal and rail era
First slope mine operations began in 1854 southeast of Harrisburg. During the early years, the coal was transported by wagon to local homes and businesses for heating. Coal Mining became an important industry for the post-Antebellum, now Gilded AgeGilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
city. The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and...
was completed in 1872 and provided transportation for coal and the miners who tired away underground. After a series of corporate transactions brought the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and...
into the hands of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway around 1890, with Illinois state representative Charles P Skaggs as mayor, Harrisburg evolved into one of the leading coal-mining centers of the Midwest. Harrisburg was a strategic spot on the railroad route with a large hump yard, making it the focal point for the most productive coal field operations. Some of the most profitable coal companies that operated around Harrisburg were Big Creek Coal, Harrisburg Coal and O'Gara Coal. Each one with their own sizable rail yards. O'gara was a Progressive Era
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
coal company owned by Thomas J. O'gara of Chicago. He purchased and annexed 23 privately owned mines in the Harrisburg coal field which equaled 50000 acres (202.3 km²) of land. The Company based its headquarters in Harrisburg in 1905. O'gara only owned 12 operating mines, all in Saline County, but they had an annual output of 7,000,000 tons. 6,000 men were employed in a field capacity and the pay roll disbursement was $150,000 per month. The company paid $10,000 monthly royalty. H. Thomas was the company's general manager of mines, Ed Ghent its chief engineer and D. B. McGehee the assistant general manager.
By 1905, several small slope mines and 15 shaft mines operated in the county. Most were along the railroad line. Large numbers of immigrants from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, looking for work, detrained at the Harrisburg Train Depot; crowding around quickly expanding mining villages directly outside of the city, such as Muddy
Muddy, Illinois
Muddy is a small incorporated village located in the Harrisburg Township in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 68 at the 2010 census. Muddy was built as a coal mining village to house miners working in O'gara #12 mine located on the north bank of the Saline River...
and Ledford
Ledford, Illinois
Ledford is an unincorporated community in the Harrisburg Township, Saline County, Illinois, United States situated between Carrier Mills and Harrisburg, Illinois. It was named after a well known Ledford family in the area...
. The city's population quickly expanded from 5,000 to 10,000 in a few short years. By 1906, the Big four/CCC&STL Railroad became the New York Central, and Saline County was producing more than 500,000 tons of coal annually with more than 5000 miners at work. In 1915 the Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Brothers Circus
The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers: Albert , August , Otto , Alfred T. , Charles , John , and Henry...
made an appearance in Harrisburg. In 1913 the Southern Illinois Railway and Power Company operated a interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
trolley line, that ran from downtown Eldorado
Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,...
, into Muddy
Muddy, Illinois
Muddy is a small incorporated village located in the Harrisburg Township in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 68 at the 2010 census. Muddy was built as a coal mining village to house miners working in O'gara #12 mine located on the north bank of the Saline River...
, Wasson, Beulah Heights, through downtown Harrisburg, Dorrisville, Ledford
Ledford, Illinois
Ledford is an unincorporated community in the Harrisburg Township, Saline County, Illinois, United States situated between Carrier Mills and Harrisburg, Illinois. It was named after a well known Ledford family in the area...
and into downtown Carrier Mills
Carrier Mills, Illinois
Carrier Mills, formerly Carriers Mills and Morrilsville, also known as Catskin, is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,886 at the 2000 census. Carrier Mills was named after George Washington Carrier and his saw and grist mill, and was one of the early Cairo...
, all of which had larger residential areas than present. In 1917 there were plans to extend the line westward to Marion
Marion, Illinois
The city of Marion is the county seat of Williamson County, Illinois. The 2010 census counted 17,193 residents, making Marion the 25th most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in Illinois, and the second most populous city in Southern Illinois, outside of the Metro-East, behind...
and Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...
to connect to the Coal Belt Co. line, and then run it towards St. Louis. The trolley wire through the county was 16 feet (5 m) high. It was an off branch of the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and...
. The corporation erected the first electrical generating plant in Muddy, IL.
The Central Illinois Public Service Company
Central Illinois Public Service Company
The Central Illinois Public Service Company was an electric streetcar holding company and power utility first organized in 1902. Under its later quarter billion dollar holding company, CIPSCO Inc. , it merged in 1997 with the larger neighboring Union Electric Company of Missouri to form Ameren...
purchased the Muddy Power Station in 1916, it had a generating capacity of 7,500 kilowatts. After removing an original 2,500-kilowatt unit, the company added two 5,000-kilowatt turbine-generators and one 10,000 kilowatt unit, bringing the stations total capacity to 25,000 kilowatts in 1922. Electricity generated at the station was distributed over 66-kv, double circuit steel tower transmission lines extending to West Frankfort
West Frankfort, Illinois
West Frankfort is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, USA. The population was 8,182 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.-History:...
to the west, the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
to the east, and Olney
Olney, Illinois
Olney is a city in Richland County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,631 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richland County.-History:...
to the north. The plant had two impounding reservoirs which covered 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) and held 320 million gallons of water.
The community benefited from the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
, flaunting the most extravagant displays of wealth in the city's history. The 230 feet (70.1 m) neon
Neon
Neon is the chemical element that has the symbol Ne and an atomic number of 10. Although a very common element in the universe, it is rare on Earth. A colorless, inert noble gas under standard conditions, neon gives a distinct reddish-orange glow when used in either low-voltage neon glow lamps or...
red tower belonging to the WEBQ-A.M. radio station, was the tallest structure in the city and could be seen for miles. Harrisburg had just finished the new three-story Horning Hotel around 1920, and two new theaters with a combined total of 1,600 seats; the Orpheum and the Grand the same year. The eight-story Harrisburg National Bank building, the O'gara Coal Headquarters, the Cummings Office building, and the four-story Harrisburg Hospital were all built in 1923. A new four-story city hall building was constructed in 1927, and a complex highway system was constructed through the city, with Illinois Route 13
Illinois Route 13
Illinois Route 13 is a major east–west state route in southern Illinois. Illinois 13 has its western terminus at Centreville at Illinois Route 157 and its eastern terminus at the Kentucky state line and the Ohio River, at Kentucky Route 56. This is a distance of .- Route description :Illinois...
and Illinois Route 34
Illinois Route 34
Illinois Route 34 is a north–south state road in southern Illinois. It runs from a former ferry crossing to Kentucky Route 297 across the Ohio River in Rosiclare to Illinois Routes 14/37 in Benton. This is a distance of .- Route description :...
constructed in 1918; U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45 is a north–south United States highway. US 45 is a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as ....
and Illinois Route 145
Illinois Route 145
Illinois Route 145 is a north–south state road in southern Illinois. It splits off from U.S. Route 45 near Metropolis and runs north, rejoining U.S. 45 in Harrisburg...
constructed in 1925-1926. During this time the city expanded to 15,000 people with large homes and mansions erected around the business district. The Annexation of Dorrisville and Dorris Heights created blue collar, multiple, and single family homes filling in between. On Vine Street south of the town square was "Wiskey Chute", a saloon vice district
Vice District
Vice District is one of six districts of the province Sechura in Peru.-References:...
for local miners. It was also during this time that the town was home to prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
-era bootlegger Charles Birger
Charles Birger
Charles Birger was an American bootlegger during the Prohibition period in southern Illinois. His real name was Shachna Itzik Birger, and he emigrated to the United States as a child with his parents from the Russian Empire....
, whose gang was said to have protected local business owners better than the law enforcement. For a time, the gangster's prized Tommy gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
was displayed in a glass case in the City Hall. The geography around Harrisburg changed indefinitely, with coal areas producing a surface mining
Surface mining
Surface mining , is a type of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed...
landscape the size of San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, roughly 172 sq mi (445.5 km²), aptly named The Harrisburg Coal Field. The field completely encased the towns of Carrier Mills and Harrisburg, while creating partial borders to Stonefort, Galatia, and Raleigh. Near the mines were gob piles that spontaneously combusted. The horizon around the city for many years flickered with burning coal refuse.
Slow economic decline
Harrisburg reached its peak population of 15,659 in 1930, making it the 20th most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in Illinois, and the most populous city in Southern Illinois outside of the metro-eastMetro-East
Metro East is a region in Illinois that comprises the eastern suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region's most populated city is Belleville at 45,000 residents...
. Even with the economic downturn during the Great depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, with business owners and industrial firms closing shop, the city continued to thrive due to its enormous coal industry. On June 17, 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
visited Harrisburg to observe work of the WPA and delivered a speech in the packed High School gymnasium. The heyday ended quickly when the Ohio River flood of 1937
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
left 4,000 within the city homeless and 80% of the city inundated. Many flooded mines were deemed condemned which left the local economy crippled. In 1938, the state of Illinois had completed one of the largest operations of its kind ever attempted in the United States, the removal of more than two and a half billion gallons of flood water from Sahara mine No. 3. Soon the Southern Illinois Railway and Power company was bought by the Central Illinois Public Service Company
Central Illinois Public Service Company
The Central Illinois Public Service Company was an electric streetcar holding company and power utility first organized in 1902. Under its later quarter billion dollar holding company, CIPSCO Inc. , it merged in 1997 with the larger neighboring Union Electric Company of Missouri to form Ameren...
. The inter-urban line was abandoned in 1933 after 20 years of service. After the decommission of the Interurban line, Harrisburg opened the Harrisburg-Dorrisville Bus Co., which was a private predecessor bus company to the current Rides Mass Transit District which was opened in 1980. Between 1930 and 1940 the city lost 27% of its overall population.
Immediately after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
new coal companies, Peabody, Bluebird, and Sahara starting mining within the city. The war created a great demand for energy, which was satisfied by expanded strip mining operations throughout the Harrisburg Coal Fields. Shortly after World War II, it became clear that coal was losing favor to other energy sources such as oil and natural gas. In contrast to other cities in the United States that prospered in the post-war boom, the fortunes of Saline County began to quickly diminish. Harry Truman stopped briefly in Harrisburg during his whistlestop tour in Sept. 30, 1948, giving some hope for economic recovery for the region. Without hesitating, the long parade of police, buses, and accompanying cars sped through town. Poplar street
Illinois Route 13
Illinois Route 13 is a major east–west state route in southern Illinois. Illinois 13 has its western terminus at Centreville at Illinois Route 157 and its eastern terminus at the Kentucky state line and the Ohio River, at Kentucky Route 56. This is a distance of .- Route description :Illinois...
, at that time the main drag through town, was crowded with multitudes of persons for its entire length. It was reported by the Daily Register Newspaper that cars were lined along Route 13 all the way from Marion
Marion, Illinois
The city of Marion is the county seat of Williamson County, Illinois. The 2010 census counted 17,193 residents, making Marion the 25th most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in Illinois, and the second most populous city in Southern Illinois, outside of the Metro-East, behind...
and on to Eldorado
Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,...
on Route 45. In 1950 Assistant State Attorney General of Illinois, George N. Leighton
George N. Leighton
George Neves Leighton is a retired African-American judge.- Personal life :...
, Represented parents in a proceeding which desegregated the public schools of Harrisburg. On December 1, 1953, WSIL-TV
WSIL-TV
WSIL-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southern Illinois, Southeastern Missouri, and the Purchase area of Western Kentucky that is licensed to Harrisburg, Illinois. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in Creal Springs, Illinois. Locally...
3 was founded and based out of the city. The station built the 503 ft (153.4m), WSIL tower in downtown which was one of the tallest television towers in the state at the time and is still the tallest structure in the city.
By 1957, the Egyptian was the last passenger train to travel through the city. Between 1940 and 1960 Harrisburg lost another 20% of its population due to economic standstill. With only 9100 people left in the city that once had 16,000, then Senator John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
made a campaign stop on October 3, 1960. Speaking at the Saline County Court House he said
"This district, which is built on the land and which has been nourished by the land, personifies the kind of problems which I think the United States is going to face in the 1960s. This district has depended in the main for its resources, its growth, its wealth, upon the minerals underground and upon the food that is grown on the ground. And those are those industries that have faced serious problems in the 1960s."
Later during the same speech after addressing agriculture Senator Kennedy stated
"Farmers could farm and work in the cities and towns, but this year we have the highest unemployment that we have had in any months of August and September, the three Augusts and Septembers preceding the recession of 1949, 1954, and 1958, and this district knows this problem well, because this district has lost 60,000 people in the last 10 years."
By 1968 with hopes of bringing a new influx of coal mining into the city, Sahara Coal Company ordered the Bucyrus-Eerie
Bucyrus International
Bucyrus International, Inc. , was an American surface and underground mining equipment company. Founded as Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company in Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1880, Bucyrus moved company headquarters to South Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1893. In its early history, Bucyrus produced steam...
"GEM of Egypt
The Silver Spade
350px|thumb|Bucket and cab of The Silver Spade at Harrison Coal and Reclamation Park on [[Ohio State Route 519|Stumptown Road]]The Silver Spade was a giant excavator used for strip mining in southeastern Ohio. Manufactured by Bucyrus-Erie, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the model 1950-B was one of two...
" strip mine shovel, one of the largest in the world at 8-stories high and weighing 1,000 tons. It took three men to operate it, and its bucket capacity was 30 cubic yards. Even with such great efforts coal mining continued to dwindle within the community. The train depot was razed in 1972 and all coal freight was ordered out of the Harrisburg Hump Yard by 1973. During the 1970s and 1980s, many of the city-square storefronts and mini-plazas became vacant and were slowly abandoned as large Chain stores and Strip malls on Commercial Street
U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45 is a north–south United States highway. US 45 is a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as ....
became the dominant venues for shopping and entertainment, hoping to bring an influx of travelers from the main highway.
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 legislation forced many utility companies in the United states to switch to low-sulfur coal. In response Harrisburg's already waning economy took a severe downturn. The freight yard closed in 1982, Sahara Coal company shut down operations in 1993, 865 jobs were lost in the county that year. This ended the reign of big coal in Harrisburg, a way of life for residents for over 100 years. The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
Cairo and Vincennes Railroad
The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and...
/Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad and commonly abbreviated CCC&StL, was a railroad company in the Midwestern United States....
system tracks were taken up in the late 1980s and replaced by the Tunnel Hill State Trail
Tunnel Hill State Trail
The Tunnel Hill State Trail is a bicycle trail running from Harrisburg to Karnak, Illinois. The trail runs along the former bed of a part of the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad, a transportation unit led during its early years by Civil War General Ambrose Burnside...
in 1996.
An estimated 200 billion tons of coal are estimated to lie underground in the state of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Currently only 38 billion tons of that coal can be recovered economically.
Post-coal economy
In 1984, a respected local physician, Dr. John Dale Cavaness, was charged with the murder of his two sons for insurance money. The case was chronicled in the book by Darcy O'BrienDarcy O'Brien
Darcy O'Brien was an award-winning author of fiction and literary criticism, most well-known for his work in the genre of true crime. His first novel, A Way of Life, Like Any Other, was a fictionalized account of his childhood in Hollywood...
, Murder in Little Egypt. Soon Pioneer history was showcased at the Saline County Area Historical Museum on the city's southern edge. The 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) site includes the three-story high Old Pauper Home, which was once part of the county's 170 acre (0.6879662 km²) poor farm, built in 1877. The site also features a variety of cabins, a one-room school house, a small church and other historic buildings that have been acquired, moved to the site and restored.
The Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport is located approximately four miles north of Harrisburg on Highway 34. The Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport Authority operates the airport. The Airport has two runways—32/14 and 6/24. Runway 24 includes a new, 1000 feet (304.8 m) extension, bringing the runway to 5000 feet (1,524 m), and a GPS-RNAV approach.
Two industrial zones were set up within the township in 1974 by the Saline County Industrial Development Co., one located in Dorrisville, and the other located near the Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport. The one in Dorrisville had the advantage of rail spur prior to the removal of the New York Central tracks. A Tax Increment Finance district was built on the property of the old rail yard north of the city where the Harrisburg Professional Park was built.
The current industrial base within the city, while most are not coal related, give opportunity to a number of city residents. American Coal and Arclar, the only two coal mines in the county are producing low sulfer coal as an energy resource. Kerr-McGee
Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an energy company involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas. On June 23, 2006, Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus the assumption of $2.6...
Coal Corporation's Galatia Complex was purchased by the American Coal Company in 1998. American Coal employs about 580 workers, while Arclar employs 175 persons. Nationwide Glove Factory is currently employing 225 persons, and American Needle is second largest non coal company with 125 workers. Southern Truss and Harrisburg Truss companies employ together 100 employees manufacturing building components.
In 2008 construction on the Harrisburg Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
Supercenter was completed. Wal-Mart will gave $21,950 in grants to the Anna Bixby Women's Center, Bridge Medical Clinic, CASA of Saline County, Harrisburg District Library, Harrisburg Police Department, Harvest Deliverance Center Food Pantry, Regional Superintendent of Schools, Saline County Senior Citizens Council and Saline County Sheriff's Department. The building is 184000 square feet (17,094.2 m²) and added 150 new jobs to the county. The Supercenter is now the second-largest employer in the city with 340 employees on its payroll. A new strip mall was completed on the south side of town, and Parker Plaza, the oldest shopping center in town was renovated with a new facade to promote commercial growth in the city.
To this day Harrisburg is, not only the seat, but the retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
hub of Saline County
Saline County, Illinois
Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 24,913, which is a decrease of 6.8% from 26,733 in 2000. Its county seat is Harrisburg. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States....
. It holds the nearest shopping centers, restaurants, banks, and other commerce within miles. But industrial jobs are scarce. In 2010, the chief deputy of the Harrisburg Police Department, who was also the President of the school board, was arrested for sexually assaulting a high school student
To make things worse economically for Harrisburg, Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
's decision to move a division of I-DOT
Illinois Department of Transportation
The Illinois Department of Transportation is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel tax and federal funding to local juridictions in the...
to Southern Illinois was overturned by his successor Pat Quinn
Pat Quinn (politician)
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Quinn III is the 41st and current Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously elected three times to statewide office, Quinn was the sitting lieutenant governor and became governor on January 29, 2009, when the previous governor, Rod Blagojevich,...
. The decision outraged lawmakers in Springfield. A lawsuit was filed to stop the move to Harrisburg. Matters were exacerbated by videos of the new home for the IDOT traffic safety division, the old Allen Miller car dealership building, which now houses the Southeastern Illinois College Foundation Center. Was surrounded by water surfaced on YouTube late 2007.
In December 2010 Harrisburg's AMC
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
, formerly Cinema 4 theater closed its doors to the public indefinitely. This is the first time Harrisburg has been without a cinema since 1920. Even AMC was unaware of the future of the building at the time of its closing. Justin Scott, an AMC spokesman wrote in an e-mail message to the public, "We own the building, however no decisions have been made yet about its future."
After release of the 2010 census, in February 2011, the city learned its population had dropped to a low of 9,017 people, an 8.5 percent decrease. It was lowest population since the pre-coal boom of 1900.
Demographics
According to the 2010 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 9,017 people living within the city limits. Of the 8,765 persons who identified with one race, 7,983 (88.5%) were white, 589 (6.5%) were black or African-American, 45 American Indian, 74 Asian, 8 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders, and 66 who claimed some other race. The Hispanic population was 209 (2.3 percent). There were 4,193 total housing units; 3,753 (89.5%) were occupied and 440 (10.5%) vacant.
Geography and cityscape
Harrisburg is located at 37°44′2"N 88°32′45"W (37.733765, -88.545873). According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 6.4 square miles (16.6 km²), of which 6.2 square miles (16.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (2.19%) is water. The square in the center of town, as well as Dorrisville and Gaskins City, stand on top of a series of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
bluffs
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
that were once islands rising above natural lowlands, 338 feet (103 m) above sea level, dredged by the middle fork of the Saline River
Saline River (Illinois)
The Saline River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in the Southern Illinois region of the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of southeast Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The major tributaries include the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork, all...
. The Saline River was a navigable river used by early settlers for transportation to and from Salt Works just east of Harrisburg. The Saline flowed towards the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and flooded every spring in events called Freshet
Freshet
A freshet can refer to one of two things:* A flood resulting from heavy rain or a spring thaw. Whereas heavy rain often causes a flash flood, a spring thaw event is generally a more incremental process, depending upon local climate and topography...
s. The locals called the island "Crusoe's Island". When the area was drained, homes and businesses were built in the floodplain, and it became prone to serious flooding for years to come. The town square in the center of town is a sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
bluff
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
410 feet (125 m) above sea level, one of the first that start the Shawnee Hills
Shawnee Hills
The Shawnee Hills is a region of Southern Illinois that rests mainly in an east-west arc roughly following the outline of the southern end of the Illinois Basin. Whereas Mississippian and Pennsylvania Age rock layers are deep beneath the surface in central Illinois, these strata pierce the surface...
to the south. Topographic maps show the bluffs that rise from the Saline River that wraps the northeast part of the city. Harrisburg is located at the ending point of the Laurentide ice sheet
Laurentide ice sheet
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles, including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern United States, multiple times during Quaternary glacial epochs. It last covered most of northern North America between c. 95,000 and...
, which covered about 85 percent of Illinois. The edge of Illinoian ice sheet(s) lay further south than the southernmost extent, i.e. Douglas County, Kansas
Douglas County, Kansas
Douglas County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 110,826...
, of any of the Pre-Illinoian ice sheets.
Cottage Grove Fault System
1968 Illinois earthquake
The 1968 Illinois earthquake was the largest recorded earthquake in the U.S. Midwestern state of Illinois. Striking at 11:02 a.m. on November 9, it measured 5.4 on the Richter scale...
, scientists realized that there was a previously unknown fault under Saline County, just north of Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,...
near Harrisburg. This fault is called the Cottage Grove Fault, a small tear in the Earth's rock running west–east, in the Southern Illinois Basin. The fault is connected to the north–south trending Wabash Valley Fault System at its eastern end. Seismographic mapping completed by geologists reveal that monocline
Monocline
A monocline is a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently-dipping sequence.-Formation:Monoclines may be formed in several different ways...
s, anticline
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
s, and syncline
Syncline
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger layers closer to the center of the structure. A synclinorium is a large syncline with superimposed smaller folds. Synclines are typically a downward fold, termed a synformal syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger...
s are present within the region; these signs suggest deformation during the Paleozoic era coincident to strike-slip faulting nearby.
A focal mechanism
Focal mechanism
The focal mechanism of an earthquake describes the inelastic deformation in the source region that generates the seismic waves. In the case of a fault-related event it refers to the orientation of the fault plane that slipped and the slip vector and is also known as a fault-plane solution...
solution of the earthquake confirmed two nodal planes both striking north-south and dipping approximately 45 degrees to the east and to the west. This faulting suggests dip slip reverse motion, and to a horizontal east-west axis of confining stress. The rupture also occurred partially on the New Madrid Fault, responsible for the great New Madrid earthquakes in 1812, consisting of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the contiguous United States
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....
.
Cityscape
During the early 1900s, urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
of the city due to the geographical feature of "Cruesoe's Island" and surrounding coal mining property created a density not seen in many cities of its size. The city at the time with a population nearing 10,000 was forced to tightly cram homes and businesses upon the sandstone outcropping less than a square mile in diameter leading many to build their buildings with multiple stories around the town square. The Saline County
Saline County, Illinois
Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 24,913, which is a decrease of 6.8% from 26,733 in 2000. Its county seat is Harrisburg. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States....
courthouse and square have gone through many transformations within the past 100 years. In the 1800s the town had dirt streets with a large Greek Revival court house with Doric columns. The courthouse was then replaced in 1906 with larger building designed by then well known architect John W. Gaddis
John W. Gaddis
John W. Gaddis was a noted architect of Vincennes, Indiana. He designed numerous buildings that are preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Works include:*Dr...
of Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...
. The structure was an identical model to the Perry County Courthouse at Perryville, Missouri
Perryville, Missouri
Perryville is a city in Perry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,667 at the 2000 census. The 2008 estimated population is 8,172. It is the county seat of Perry County.-Governance:...
, both built the same year. A smaller version of the central clock tower of the courthouse, including the original clock, manufactured by the Howard Clock Company
E. Howard & Co.
thumb|Street clock by E. Howard & Co.The E. Howard & Co. clock and watch company was formed by Edward Howard and Charles Rice in 1858 after the demise of the Boston Watch Company...
, of Boston Massachusetts in 1904 was recreated in 1996, and placed in a small lot behind the Clearwave
Clearwave Communications
Clearwave Communications, Inc, LLC, is a facilities-based competitive local exchange carrier headquartered in Harrisburg, Illinois; offering voice and data services in Southern Illinois.-History:...
Building's parking lot. The Howard clock company was notable for manufacturing large clocks in such buildings as the Wrigley Building
Wrigley Building
The Wrigley Building is a skyscraper located directly across Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower on the Magnificent Mile...
in Chicago, Illinois, and the Ferry Building
Ferry Building
The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. On top of the building is a large clock tower, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The town square was completely surrounded by brick streets in 1906. Harrisburg had 25 miles (40.2 km) of brick streets, but now only a few blocks are left.
Unlike Eldorado
Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,...
, Harrisburg has not yet begun a National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
historical preservation program. Saline County is within a recognized historical district, the "Ohio River Route Where Illinois Began". Only two buildings in Harrisburg are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, those being the City Hall and the Saline County Poor Farm.
The square itself held an array of Coal mining offices, privately owned business, grocery and department stores, pharmacies and bars. During the closing of the coal mining era most of the businesses left the square and moved to the main drag of Rt. 45
U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45 is a north–south United States highway. US 45 is a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as ....
, constructed in 1926. The courthouse built by John W. Gaddis
John W. Gaddis
John W. Gaddis was a noted architect of Vincennes, Indiana. He designed numerous buildings that are preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Works include:*Dr...
was replaced with a modern, more efficient building in 1967 after the older building was condemned. Over the years, the architecture that graced Harrisburg square has slowly turned to rotting older structures mixed in with a hodge-podge of newer updated buildings. Currently there are a few privately owned downtown renovation projects under way on and around the square.
The Harrisburg Mitchell-Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library, Carnegie Public Library, Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie Free Public Library, Andrew Carnegie Library, Andrew Carnegie Free Library or Carnegie Library Building may refer to any of the following Carnegie libraries:- California :*Carnegie Library , listed on the National Register...
, located on Church Street south of the square and built with a grant from Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
, was built in 1908 and opened to the public in 1909. The building served the community until 2000 when the library was moved to a new building on north Main Street. During the 1937 flood
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
, the library was used as a make-shift hospital until the water boiler burst. The building now serves as a church.
Harrisburg has three city parks. Memorial Park, Gaskins City Park, and Dorris Heights Park. Memorial Park, on the west end of town, is the largest with the city park pool and a large lagoon snaking through the center, founded in 1935.
The sunset lawn cemetery is the largest in the county, founded in 1880, connected to the west edge of the city. The cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
contains ornate tombstones and crypts, within are the remains of most of the city's original founders and prominent residents. Sunset lawn contained the 90-year-old Sunset Mausoleum. The crypt had marble floors with 75 person's buried inside. The structure was condemned in 2008 and there were plans of removal of the bodies and reburial within the cemetery, but there was a problem of finding many of the family members.,
In May 2010, on 301 N. Granger St. The 1895 home of city bricklayer and early proprietor Robert King was set to be demolished. The homeowners donated it to Saline County Habitat for Humanity last year hoping the organization might be able to restore it. The home was considered "Unrestorable".
Harrisburg neighborhoods
Harrisburg is split up into several small neighborhoods that were annexed into the city limits over time, from north to south.- Dorris Heights - A subdivision established in 1923 on land owned by W.S. and Bertha Dorris. Annexed in 1979. Sits to the direct north of Harrisburg with the Dorris Heights Street being the main road through the area. The Saline County Fair Grounds sits to between Dorris Heights St. and the Levee to the north. Small street heads east from Dorris Heights towards the Arrow Head Point shopping center.
- Buena Vista - Sits to the south and north of Rt. 13 (poplar st.) to the direct west of the main village. It holds the new town water tower and several homes. It is bordered by Liberty to the south.
- Wilmoth Addition - Is an area of prominently African American residents north of Old Harrisburg, and just south of Dorris Heights. A good portion of the Wilmoth Addition has been slowly abandoned and torn down when the Rt. 13 bypass was built.
- Old Harrisburg Village - The streets that surround the town square. It includes everything on Main street north and south, and Poplar street from the levee to the east and the town park to the west. It also includes the High School, the old Junior High, West and East Side schools, the Courthouse, The town park and Cemetery to the west, and the main shopping strip on Rt. 45. This part of the city is the oldest, and is recognized mainly by the densely packed gilded age homes and structures lined on narrow brick streets that look like they belong in Northwestern PennsylvaniaCoal RegionThe Coal Region is a term used to refer to an area of Northeastern Pennsylvania in the central Appalachian Mountains comprising Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Schuylkill, Northumberland, and the extreme northeast corner of Dauphin counties....
coal towns, not Southern Illinois. Most of this area is located upon "Crusoe's Island", and was built during a pre-automobile-centric Harrisburg. - Gaskins City - Includes a small village with a series of several crisscrossing streets that once existed to the east of the Harrisburg Levee and Rt. 45. Sloan St. crosses Rt. 45, runs directly into the heart of Gaskins City and dead ends at the Harrisburg Medical Center. It contains Gaskins City Baptist church, Shawnee Hills country club, and upper class neighborhood. It used to have its own school at one time.
- Garden Heights - Just south of Gaskins city. Connects Gaskins city with Rt. 34 and Pankyville.
- Dorrisville - To the direct south of Harrisburg, and established in 1905 with a post office, and annexed by the city in 1923, Dorrisville holds the Dorrisville Babtist church, and Saline County Area Historical Museum and "Pauper Farm Crossing" which is the crossroads of Feazel Street and Rt. 45. Most people recognize Dorrisville as the first 5-6 blocks north, west, and east of the Feazel Street and Barnett Street 4-way stop.
- Liberty - Was a smaller rural community to the far southwest of Harrisburg along Liberty Road. It includes the Liberty Church and cemetery. In 1873, designer of the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad, Green Berry Raum of Harrisburg, Opened a slope mine on the south side of the rails near liberty. It became the first in the county to ship coal by rail-car. The Mine was called the Ledford Slope, and the spot was called Liberty Crossing. Liberty is bordered by the old mining community of Ledford 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Harrisburg and Dorrisville to the west and Buena Vista to the north. Liberty has many housing development projects underway, and is growing quickly. Liberty holds the new Junior High building.
- LedfordLedford, IllinoisLedford is an unincorporated community in the Harrisburg Township, Saline County, Illinois, United States situated between Carrier Mills and Harrisburg, Illinois. It was named after a well known Ledford family in the area...
- Ledford used to be a complete town unto itself, it was the home of Charles Birger, and had several stores, its own school system, and a post office. Ledford was a Coal mining community set up by mostly Hungarians during the 19th century. It holds a large cemetery, a historic Hungarian Cemetery, and the Ledford Baptist Church. Ledford spreads across a 4 miles (6.4 km) stretch of land along Rt. 45 between Carrier Mills and Harrisburg with several roads shooting off to the left and right of the highway. It is all considered "Ledford".
Climate
Harrisburg lies on the border between humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Koppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfa) and humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
(Koppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfa), and has neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. Both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
affect the region. The city has four distinct seasons. The highest average temperature is in July at 89°F (20°C), while the lowest average temperature is 22°F (-6°C) in January. However, summer temperatures can top 100 °F (42 °C), and winter temperatures can drop below 0 °F (−17 °C). Average monthly precipitation ranges from 3 to 5 inches (127 mm), with the heaviest occurring during late fall. Snowfall, which normally occurs from November to April, ranges from 1 to 7 inches (177.8 mm) per month. The highest recorded temperature was 113 °F (45 °C) on July 13, 1936, and the lowest recorded temperature was recorded was on February 2, 1951 at -23.0 °F (-31.0 °C)
Flooding risks
Flooding along the Ohio RiverOhio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
causing back flow of the middle fork of the Saline River
Saline River (Illinois)
The Saline River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in the Southern Illinois region of the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of southeast Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The major tributaries include the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork, all...
has plagued Harrisburg over the years. The city was flooded in 1883-1884 and again in 1913. The most severe came during the Ohio River flood of 1937
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
when much of the city, except "Crusoes' Island", a downtown orbit that encircled the town square, was underwater. Water reached 30 miles (48.3 km) from the river because the town was isolated by high water in tributary lowlands. 10,000 out of the 16,000 residents were left stranded on the crowded "island" for weeks, while the other 80% of Harrisburg was completely inundated. By the time the flood waters receded 4000 were left homeless. Between Gallatin County
Gallatin County, Illinois
Gallatin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 5,589, which is a decrease of 13.3% from 6,445 in 2000...
and Harrisburg, some 25 miles (40.2 km) in distance, Illinois Route 13
Illinois Route 13
Illinois Route 13 is a major east–west state route in southern Illinois. Illinois 13 has its western terminus at Centreville at Illinois Route 157 and its eastern terminus at the Kentucky state line and the Ohio River, at Kentucky Route 56. This is a distance of .- Route description :Illinois...
was under 8 to 14 ft (2.4 to 4.3 m) of water; motorboats navigated the entire distance to rescue marooned families. National guard boats were the means of transportation in the city and several thousand people were transported daily from temporary island to island. According to the Sanborn
Sanborn Maps
Sanborn Maps is an American publisher of historical and current maps of U.S. cities and towns that were initially created to estimate fire insurance liabilities. The company's maps are frequently used for preservation and restoration efforts....
Map Company Harrisburg in October 1925 had a population of 15,000 and in a revised version by January 1937 the population had dropped to 13,000. After that, a levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
was erected north and east of the city to protect it from future floods. The levee became the unofficial northern and eastern border of the town. No businesses or residences exist in the Saline River
Saline River (Illinois)
The Saline River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in the Southern Illinois region of the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of southeast Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The major tributaries include the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork, all...
Middle Fork floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
s. Flooding proceeded in January 1982 due to drainage problems from the frozen ground, and in 1983, due to 8 inches (203.2 mm) of rain. The Pankey Branch pumping system, on the east side of town, was built to handle flooding from the Saline River
Saline River (Illinois)
The Saline River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in the Southern Illinois region of the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of southeast Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The major tributaries include the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork, all...
only and has serious complex watershed dynamic problems, causing continual water backup within the levee during large rain events. The city rebuilt a new pumping system and requested the Army Corps of Engineers to certify the levee.
Flood of 2008
In Saline County, a preliminary estimate indicated $16.8 million in damage caused by 11.5 inches (292.1 mm) of rain on March 18–19, 2008. At least 30 homes and 44 businesses had water over the first floor. Many business owners faced a task as they assessed damage and began cleaning up. Others were able to reopen fairly quickly after suffering only minimal damage or waiting for flood waters to recede so customers could reach their businesses. Harrisburg officials reported 74 businesses affected by flooding, Businesses along Commercial Street (U.S. Route 45U.S. Route 45
U.S. Route 45 is a north–south United States highway. US 45 is a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as ....
), were hardest hit. Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
, which had just undergone a major renovation, reportedly had 2 foot (0.6096 m) or more of water inside. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
denied flood recovery grants and loans to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Flooding in the town was being called the worst flooding in 71 years.
Gateway to the Shawnee National Forest
More than 270000 acres (1,092.7 km²) of Shawnee National ForestShawnee National Forest
The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 280,000 acres of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac...
lie to the south of Harrisburg, drawing thousands of visitors annually to the Saline County area and the gateway community. The Shawnee National Forest offers much to see and do. The national forest has 1250 miles (2,011.7 km) of roadways, some 150 miles (241.4 km) of streams and frequent waterfalls, numerous ponds and lakes as large as 2700 acres (10.9 km²) (some with swimming beaches), 13 campgrounds, many picnicking sites, and seven wilderness areas where trails are designed for hiking and horseback riding.
Plant life is extremely diverse and ranges from sun-loving species to those that grow in dense shade. Tree cover dominates the publicly owned acreage, and is a significant component on privately owned lands. Oak-hickory is the predominant timber type, however, many other commercially important timber species also occupy significant acreages. More than 500 wildlife species can be found in the Forest, including 48 mammals, 237 birds, 52 reptiles, 57 amphibians, and 109 species of fish. There are seven federally listed threatened and endangered species that inhabit the Forest, as well as 33 species which are considered regionally sensitive, and 114 Forest-listed species.
When the Shawnee Purchase Units were first established, temporary headquarters were set up in Room 303, First Trust and Savings Bank Building, Harrisburg, Illinois. This was the only modern office building in the town of Harrisburg suitable for headquarters, and the forest has continued to occupy this building as Supervisor's offices. Expansion of the offices has continued since 1933, until today (June, 1938), ten rooms on the third floor, and four rooms on the fourth floor, are leased by the Forest Service. Employees who were here during the early days of the forest tell of the chaos and confusion caused by the small space under lease, the incoming shipments of equipment and supplies, and the constant inflow of new personnel.
Media
The Harrisburg Daily Register, has been providing coverage of news for southeastern Illinois since 1869, and is owned by GateHouse MediaGateHouse Media
GateHouse Media Inc. is a U.S. newspaper publisher, headquartered in Perinton, New York, that publishes 97 dailies in 20 states and 198 paid weeklies, in addition to free papers, shoppers and specialty and niche publications.- History :Liberty Group Publishing was formed in 1998 when Kenneth L...
. It is the major daily newspaper serving Harrisburg, Saline County, and distributes to Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...
, and Mount Vernon, Illinois
Mount Vernon, Illinois
Mount Vernon is a city located near the center of Jefferson County, Illinois, in the United States. In the 2010 census, the city's reported population was 15,277 people....
. The second major newspaper is the Eldorado Daily Journal, based out of Eldorado
Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,...
. Newspapers are also delivered into the city from as far away as Evansville
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, Chicago, and St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Harrisburg has one television station licensed directly to the city; WSIL-TV
WSIL-TV
WSIL-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southern Illinois, Southeastern Missouri, and the Purchase area of Western Kentucky that is licensed to Harrisburg, Illinois. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in Creal Springs, Illinois. Locally...
. Broadcasting on channel 3, it is the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate for a wide area of southern Illinois, western Kentucky and southeastern Missouri. The station's studios reside in nearby Carterville
Carterville, Illinois
Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, in the United States, and is geographically situated between Carbondale, Illinois and Marion, Illinois. The city is located next to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge's of land and water contain a wide diversity of flora and...
. There is one major AM broadcasting station in Harrisburg, WEBQ 1240, a now country music station that has broadcast news and music to the region since the 1930s. WOOZ 99.9 FM Z100 has the trademark Today's Best Country is also based in the city.
Government, healthcare, and education
Harrisburg is the county seat of Saline CountySaline County, Illinois
Saline County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 24,913, which is a decrease of 6.8% from 26,733 in 2000. Its county seat is Harrisburg. Saline County is home to the smallest post office and the largest KFC in the United States....
with a mayor and council form of government. The city has four main council members. The city has a Police Department that shares a building with the Sheriff's department with 13 sworn officers and a civilian secretary. There are 7 full-time firefighters and 15 on-call members and a trained Emergency Medical Technician working for the Harrisburg Fire Department, working out of a central station. It has three fire trucks, a 65 feet (19.8 m) snorkel, a rescue truck, a 4x4 brush truck, and a 2,000-gallon tanker truck.
The City of Harrisburg operates its own water distribution system. It has a storage capacity of 6,000,000 gallons in elevated tanks. The water processing plant has a capacity of 4,000,000 per day, while average daily consumption is about 2,500,000 gallons. The city's water treatment plant has a design capacity of 3,125,000 gallons per day. Its average load is 1,200,000 gallons per day.
Harrisburg Hospital was at one time located in a four story complex one block from the town square, but in the 1990s moved to Harrisburg Medical Center where 78 beds and 34 physicians are on staff. It also has an 18-bed psychiatric area. In 1995, the hospital completed a multimillion dollar expansion and renovation program. There are 25 nursing homes in the Harrisburg and southeastern Illinois area. Three are located within the city. Harrisburg also has several clinics and specialized physicians have offices within the city.
Harrisburg Community Unit School District 3 serves the city's student population with two K-6 elementary schools, a junior high school, and a senior high school. More than 2,300 students are enrolled in the district's schools. More than 1,300 students attend East Side and West Side Elementary schools. Malan Junior High was the main middle school for the city until 2005 when the new middle school was built in Liberty, which has 300 students enrolled. Harrisburg High School has more than 600 students enrolled. The city also has seven preschools and daycare centers. Harrisburg once had several schools within the township before the different neighborhoods were annexed, all are now closed down, a few are, Horace Mann, McKinley School, Bayliss School, Phillips School, and Ledford school.
Higher education
Southeastern Illinois CollegeSoutheastern Illinois College
Southeastern Illinois College is a public community college located in Harrisburg, Illinois, United States. The college was founded in 1960 and offers Associate degrees. There is a secondary campus, the David L...
is a 2-year junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
that sits on a 148 acres (59.9 ha) campus east of the city limits. 60,000 residents of Saline, Gallatin, Hardin, and Pope Counties and portions of four other counties. SIC enrolls more than 2,000 students each semester in college transfer and career education programs. SIC was founded in 1960. Other nearby local colleges and universities are Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
campus at Carbondale Rend Lake College
Rend Lake College
Rend Lake College , located in Ina, Illinois, is one of 48 two-year, open-admission colleges of the Illinois Community College System , organized under the Illinois Public Community College Act.-History:...
, at Ina; Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a state university located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a comprehensive university with a...
, at Charleston, Shawnee Community College
Shawnee Community College
Shawnee Community College , located in Ullin, Illinois, is a one of 48, two-year, open-admission colleges of the Illinois Community College System , organized under the Illinois Public Community College Act.-History:...
at Vienna, and the University of Evansville
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
, at Evansville, Indiana.
Notable people
- Charlie Birger, notorious gangster.
- Virginia GreggVirginia GreggVirginia Gregg Burket was an American actress best known for her many roles in radio dramas.Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, Virginia Gregg was the daughter of musician Dewey Alphaleta and businessman Edward William Gregg.-Radio:Gregg was a prolific radio actor, heard on such programs as The...
, actress, born in Harrisburg (1916), known as the voice of Norman Bates' mother in "PsychoPsycho (1960 film)Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
". - Chuck HunsingerChuck HunsingerCharles Ray "Chuck" Hunsinger was an American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League for six seasons during the 1950s...
, running back for the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1950 to 1952). Best known for fumbling a ball in the 42nd Grey Cup42nd Grey CupThe 42nd Grey Cup football game was played on November 27, 1954, before a full house at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, Canada.The underdog Edmonton Eskimos won a contest over the Montreal Alouettes by the score of 26 to 25...
of the Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
. - John H. PickeringJohn H. PickeringJohn H. Pickering was a founding partner of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, which became one of Washington D.C.'s most prominent law firms. He was best known for his role as an appellate lawyer in cases with national significance...
, founding partner of the law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. - General Green Berry Raum, Civil War general, and president of the Cairo and Vincennes RailroadCairo and Vincennes RailroadThe Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th-century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1867 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and...
. - John Romonosky, 1950s baseball player, St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
and Washington SenatorsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
. - Dale SwannDale SwannWilliam Dale Swann was an American character actor known for his numerous roles in television, film and commercials.-Early life:...
, character actor born in the Harrisburg. - Henry TurnerHenry Turner (endocrinologist)Henry H. Turner was an American endocrinologist, noted for his published description of Turner Syndrome in 1938 at the Association for the Study of Internal Secretions. He served as chief of endocrinology and as associate dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.Turner was born in...
physician who first described Turner SyndromeTurner syndromeTurner syndrome or Ullrich-Turner syndrome encompasses several conditions in human females, of which monosomy X is most common. It is a chromosomal abnormality in which all or part of one of the sex chromosomes is absent...
.
Motsinger, Virgil (1933) Member of the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame. IBCA Hall of Fame, Mckendree College Hall of Fame and Southeastern Illinois College Hall of Fame.
See also
- Southern Illinois
- List of coalfields
- History of coal mining in the United StatesHistory of coal mining in the United StatesAnthracite , clean and smokeless, became the preferred fuel in cities, replacing wood by about 1850. Anthracite from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Coal Region and later from West Virginia was typically used for household uses because it is a high quality coal with few impurities and stoves and...
- Coal-mining regionCoal-mining regionCoal mining regions are significant resource extraction industries in many parts of the world. They provide a large amount of the fossil fuel energy in the world economy....
- Rust BeltRust BeltThe Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...
- BoomtownBoomtownA boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
- Mill townMill townA mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
- WSIL-TVWSIL-TVWSIL-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Southern Illinois, Southeastern Missouri, and the Purchase area of Western Kentucky that is licensed to Harrisburg, Illinois. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in Creal Springs, Illinois. Locally...