Carlinville, Illinois

Geobox|Settlement
name = Carlinville
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category = City
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country = United States
state = Illinois
region = Macoupin
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leader_type = Mayor
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
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postal_code = 62626
area_code = 217
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map_caption = Location of Carlinville within Illinois
map_background = Illinois - background map.png map_locator = Illinois2
commons = Carlinville, Illinois
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Carlinville is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 Federal Census, the population was 5,685. It is the county seat of Macoupin County.GR|6

As a quaint, quiet rural community, Carlinville is a quintessential example of small town America. Recognized federally for its scenic beauty as a "Tree City," Carlinville is home to many tourist sites, annual festivals, bed and breakfasts, and restaurants/diners where its local flavor thrives. Carlinville is also the home of Blackburn College, a small college affiliated with the Presbyterian church.

History

Named after a former governor of Illinois (Thomas Carlin, governor 1838-1842), Carlinville has long been a site of Illinois history. A site of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, Carlinville has also played host to many other presidential hopefuls via campaign stops at a time in American history when railway routes produced many visits by politicos. Perhaps the largest and most important hallmark of Carlinville's history is its courthouse. Built in 1870, and designed by famous state capitol building architect Elijah E. Myers, the construction of Carlinville's courthouse produced its candidacy for the location of the State Capitol. Locally, it is known as "The Million Dollar Courthouse" due to its cost overruns at the time it was built.

In the early 1900s Carlinville became the site of a great many Sears Catalog Homes. An entire neighborhood was constructed of the homes and was funded, in 1918, by Standard Oil of Indiana for its mineworkers in Carlinville (at a cost of approximately 1 million dollars US). Today 152 of the original 156 homes still exist, the largest single repository of Sears Catalog Homes in the United States.

Further, many notable people have come from Carlinville. Among them, the American entomologist Charles Robertson carried out what is still the single most intensive study of flower-visiting insects of a single locality, culminating in a 221-page book published in 1928 under the title "Flowers and Insects". From among the specimens he collected in the process of doing this study, he named over 100 new species of bees and wasps, one of which - the andrenid bee "Andrena lauracea", described in 1897 - is known only from two female specimens, both collected on spicebush in Carlinville. Amazingly, the two specimens were collected some 90 years apart, the second being collected in 1985, long after the species was presumed to be extinct.

Also among the cadre of notable Carlinvillians, are several artists, academics, and numerous decorated military veterans. A pre-1936 routing of historic U.S. Route 66 runs through the Carlinville, now known as Illinois Route 4.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 5,685 people, 2,125 households, and 1,393 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,390 people per square mile (922/km²). There were 2,289 housing units at an average density of 962.3/sq mi (371.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.01% White, 1.50% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.76% of the population.

There were 2,125 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,259, and the median income for a family was $39,693. Males had a median income of $35,137 versus $21,286 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,663. About 9.0% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

*Carlinville (Amtrak station)

References

External links

* [http://www.carlinville.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.opendiary.com/farmdiary Diary of Carlinville Resident in 1890's]