Carbondale, Illinois
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Carbondale is a city in extreme south central Illinois in the midwestern United States, about an hour north of Cairo. It is known mainly as the site of the main campus of Southern Illinois University. The city is located in Jackson County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 20,681.
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History
Carbondale, as its name suggests, began its days as a coal mining town. By the time of the American Civil War, the area had been incorporated as a village. After the war it developed into a center of business and transport for the region. Southern Illinois Normal University, a major factor in Carbondale's economy, which later became known as Southern Illinois University, was founded in Carbondale in 1874.
On 8 November 1969 Carbondale was the site of a concert given by Simon and Garfunkel. Recordings of at least some of the tracks from this concert have been widely bootlegged, most notably on Head Records' CD "Village Vanguard," tracks 4-11.
Carbondale is also famous for a series of riots that have occurred on Halloween. "The Strip", as the main stretch of local businesses and bars is known in the city, has often been shut down on Halloween in order to keep the opportunity for riotous, often alcohol-inspired behavior down. While the riot activity is often attributed to the presence of Southern Illinois University, most of those arrested by police during these activities are actually out-of-towners.
Geography
Carbondale is located at 37°43'35" North, 89°13'13" West (37.726418, -89.220270)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.4 km² (12.1 mi²). 30.8 km² (11.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.06% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 20,681 people, 9,981 households, and 3,493 families residing in the city. The population density is 671.6/km² (1,738.7/mi²). There are 10,968 housing units at an average density of 356.2/km² (922.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 66.08% White, 23.14% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 6.67% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.42% from other races, and 2.40% from two or more races. 3.05% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 9,981 households out of which 17.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.1% are married couples living together, 10.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 65.0% are non-families. 43.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.99 and the average family size is 2.78.
The age distribution, which is heavily influenced by the presence of SIU, is: 15.8% under the age of 18, 35.4% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 12.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 25 years, which is also fairly typical for a university town. For every 100 females there are 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 105.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $15,882, and the median income for a family is $34,601. Males have a median income of $30,217 versus $24,114 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,346. 41.4% of the population and 23.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 32.1% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. However, traditional measures of poverty can be misleading when applied to a community with a large proportion of students, such as Carbondale.
External links
- http://www.ci.carbondale.il.us/ City of Carbondale Official Website
- http://www.siuc.edu/ Southern Illinois University Official Website
- http://www.southernillinoisan.com/ The Southern Illinoisan Newspaper