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SIUC FanerPhoto: Bradley Furlow · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Carbondale Township

Carbondale Township dates to 1852, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Carbondale Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1880.

1852founded
5on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
24old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carbondale Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carbondale Township began

When was Carbondale Township founded?

1852

Carbondale Township dates its founding to 1852 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 2,213 in 18802020 census: 24,686174 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓

What stands out about Carbondale Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos24 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1989.On the map since 19225 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1990. Watch Carbondale Township change.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Carbondale Township, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s5 items
Passenger Depot1880Passenger DepotPassenger depot, I.C.R.R1900Passenger depot, I.C.R.RExterior of Barth Theater with marquee reading "In old Kentucky with Anita Stewart," Carbondale, Illinois1910Exterior of Barth Theater with marquee reading "In ol…View in yards of Ayer-Lord tie plant1910View in yards of Ayer-Lord tie plantMain Building, Southern Illinois State Normal University1918Main Building, Southern Illinois State Normal Univers…
1940s7 items
Illinois1942IllinoisIllinois1942IllinoisIllinois1942IllinoisIllinois1942IllinoisIllinois1942IllinoisIllinois1942IllinoisCarbondale, Illinois. Signs (outside) Carbondale, Illinois1942Carbondale, Illinois. Signs (outside) Carbondale, Ill…
1950s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s12 items
Airslide Hopper, MP1988Airslide Hopper, MPAirslide Hopper, MP1988Airslide Hopper, MPAirslide Hopper, MP1988Airslide Hopper, MPAirslide Hopper, NW1988Airslide Hopper, NWCovered Hopper, Continental Grain Co1988Covered Hopper, Continental Grain CoCovered Hopper, Sand's of Iowa1988Covered Hopper, Sand's of IowaIllinois Central 3076 (GP40A)1988Illinois Central 3076 (GP40A)Airslide Hopper, MP1989Airslide Hopper, MPAirslide Hopper, UP1989Airslide Hopper, UPIllinois Central 9451 & 9450 (both SD28)1989Illinois Central 9451 & 9450 (both SD28)Illinois Central Gulf 9450 (SD28)1989Illinois Central Gulf 9450 (SD28)Illinois Central Gulf 9450 (SD28)1989Illinois Central Gulf 9450 (SD28)
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Carbondale Township on the map, 1922 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carbondale Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Carbondale Township on the 1922 USGS mapCarbondale Township on the 1941 USGS mapCarbondale Township on the 1966 USGS mapCarbondale Township on the 1978 USGS mapCarbondale Township on the 1990 USGS map1922Carbondale sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Carbondale Township.

On the National Register

5 listings protect 49 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
49
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Carbondale Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carbondale Township.

Read it all →

In August 1853, Daniel Harmon Brush, John Asgill Conner, and Dr. William Richart bought a 360-acre (1.5 km2) parcel of land between two proposed railroad station sites (Makanda and De Soto) and two county seats (Murphysboro and Marion). Brush named Carbondale for the large deposit of coal in the area. The first train through Carbondale arrived on Independence Day 1854, traveling north on the main line from Cairo, Illinois. By the time of the American Civil War, Carbondale had developed as a regional center for transportation and business, surrounded by agricultural development. This part of Illinois was known as "Little Egypt" because of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, where the town of Cairo is located.

ChaptersEclipse Crossroads of America

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carbondale Township, 1852 to 1988

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852
    FoundingCarbondale Township is established
  3. 1880In the archivePassenger Depot
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archivePassenger depot, I.C.R.R
  6. 1910In the archiveExterior of Barth Theater with marquee reading "In old Kentucky with Anita Stewart," Carb…
  7. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1942In the archiveIllinois
  9. 1988In the archiveAirslide Hopper, MP
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Passenger Depot
Retake this viewPassenger Depot, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Carbondale Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Carbondale Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 27,033

Between 2,213 and 27,033 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carbondale Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Brierpath SchoolschoolNorth County Line ChurchchurchOak Grove Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Carbondale Township
DillingerNorth County Line

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Carbondale Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPassenger Depot: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Makanda Township2 historic placesBMurphysboro Township10 historic placesADe Soto TownshipIts storyCCarbondale5 historic placesB−Pomona TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Carbondale Township’s history

What year was Carbondale Township founded?

In 1852, according to Wikidata. Carbondale Township’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1880 counted 2,213 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the Library of Congress (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.