Crab Orchard is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

east of

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

Williamson County, Illinois Williamson County is a county in Southern Illinois. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 67,153. The largest city and county seat is Marion. Williamson County is included in the Carbondale-Marion, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. This ...

, located along an old route of

Illinois Route 13 Illinois Route 13 (IL 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 ...

now designated Crab Orchard Road. The upper branches of Crab Orchard Creek which eventually feed into

Crab Orchard Lake Crab Orchard Lake is a 6,965-acre (28.2 km²) reservoir in Williamson County, Illinois. It is the centerpiece of the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. It is fed by Devils Kitchen Lake and Little Grassy Lake, which are also within the ...

flow nearby and gave the community its name. For a brief time during the Civil War, it was known as Erwinsville, which is the name in the original plat of the village. In its early days, it had the nickname "Steal-Easy." The Crab Orchard post office was established 18 August 1853 and discontinued operations 15 May 1924. It's now served by the

post office. As of the 2010 census, Crab Orchard has a population of 333. Crab Orchard has an area of ; of this is land, and is water.

Demographics

Community services

Crab Orchard Community Unit School District 3 serves the community and surrounding area. The Crab Orchard Public Library District serves the area with its main library in Crab Orchard and satellite services at Pittsburg and Creal Springs. Fire protection is provided by Williamson County Fire Protection District. Station #3 is located on the north edge of the community. Treated water is provided by the private Coal Valley Water District.Coal Valley Water District
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Notable people

Cory Bailey Phillip Cory Bailey (born January 24, 1971) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball between and . He batted and threw right-handed. Biography A Crab Orchard High School and Marion High School graduate, Ba ...

, professional baseball player, attended school in Crab Orchard. *

Gerry Glasco Gerald Dean Glasco Jr. (born October 29, 1958) is an American college softball coach who is currently head coach at Louisiana and the Women's Professional Fastpitch team Smash It Sports Vipers. Previously, Glasco had been a high school softball ...

, college softball coach at

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and former head coach at the

USSSA Pride The USSSA Pride are a professional softball team based in Viera, Florida and a member of the WPF - Women's Professional Fastpitch League, U.S. Founded in 2009. They previously played in National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) from 2009 to 2019. They play th ...

and the

Scrap Yard Dawgs The Scrap Yard Fast Pitch was an independent women's professional softball team based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Established in October 2015 as the Scrap Yard Dawgs, the team played in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 20 ...

of the

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Williamson County, Illinois Populated places established in 1853