Charleston is a city in, and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of,
Coles County
Coles County is a county in Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,863. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University.
Coles County is part of the Charleston- Mattoon, IL Micropolitan St ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, United States.
The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to
Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor,
Mattoon. Both are principal cities of the
Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Native Americans lived in the Charleston area for thousands of years before the first European settlers arrived. With the great tallgrass
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
to the west,
beech-maple forests to the east, and the
Embarras River and
Wabash River
The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...
s between, the Charleston area provided semi-nomadic Indians access to a variety of resources. Indians may have deliberately set the "
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
s" which maintained the local mosaic of
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
and oak–hickory
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
. Streams with names such as 'Indian Creek' and 'Kickapoo Creek' mark the sites of former Indian settlements. One village is said to have been located south of Fox Ridge State Park near a deposit of
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
.
The early history of settlement in the area was marked by uneasy co-existence between Indians and European settlers. Some settlers lived peacefully with the natives, but conflict arose in the 1810s and 1820s. After Indians allegedly harassed surveying crews, an escalating series of poorly documented skirmishes occurred between Indians, settlers, and the Illinois Rangers. Two pitched battles (complete with
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
on one side) took place just south of Charleston along "the hills of the Embarrass," near the entrance to
Lake Charleston park. These conflicts did not slow American settlement, and Indian history in Coles County effectively ended when all natives were expelled by law from Illinois after the 1832
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...
. With the grudging exception of Indian wives, the last natives were driven out by the 1840s.
First settled by Benjamin Parker in 1826, Charleston was named for Charles Morton, its first postmaster. The city was established in 1831, but not incorporated until 1865. When
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's father moved to a farm on Goosenest Prairie south of Charleston in 1831, Lincoln helped him move, then left to start his own homestead at
New Salem in
Sangamon County
Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital.
Sangamon County is included in the S ...
. Lincoln was a frequent visitor to the Charleston area, though he likely spent more time at the Coles County courthouse than at the home of his father and stepmother. One of the famous
Lincoln–Douglas debates was held in Charleston on September 18, 1858, and is now the site of the Coles County fairgrounds and a small museum. Lincoln's last visit was in 1859, when the future President visited his stepmother and his father's grave.
Although Illinois was a solidly pro-Union, anti-
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
state, Coles County was settled by many Southerners with pro-slavery sentiments. In 1847, the county was divided when prominent local citizens offered refuge to a family of escaped slaves brought from Kentucky by Gen. Robert Matson. Abe Lincoln, by then a young railroad lawyer, appeared in the Coles County Courthouse to argue for the return of the escaped slaves under the
Fugitive Slave Act in a case known as
Matson v. Ashmore. As in the rest of the nation, this long-simmering debate finally broke out into violence during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. On March 28, 1864 a
riot—or perhaps a small battle—erupted in downtown Charleston when armed
Confederate sympathizers known as
Copperheads arrived in town to attack half-drunk Union soldiers preparing to return to their regiment.
In 1895, the Eastern Illinois State Normal School was established in Charleston, which later became
Eastern Illinois University. This led to lasting resentment in nearby Mattoon, which had originally led the campaign to locate the proposed
teaching school in Coles County. A Mattoon newspaper printed a special edition announcing the decision with the derisive headline "Catfish Town Gets It."
Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln (January 6, 1778 – January 17, 1851) was an American farmer, carpenter, and father of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Unlike some of his ancestors, Thomas could not write. He struggled to make a succes ...
's
log cabin has been restored and is open to the public as the
Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
The Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site is an 86-acre (0.3 km²) history park located eight miles (13 km) south of Charleston, Illinois, U.S., near the town of Lerna. The centerpiece is a replica of the log cabin built and occupied by ...
, 8 mi. south of Charleston. The Lincoln farm is maintained as a
living history museum
A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recrea ...
where historical re-enactors depict life in 1840s Illinois. Thomas and
Sarah Bush Lincoln are buried in the nearby Shiloh Cemetery.
On May 26, 1917, a
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
ripped through Charleston, killing 38 and wounding many more along with destroying 220 homes.
Geography
Charleston is located at (39.4846183, -88.1779604).
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Charleston has a total area of , of which (or 92.68%) is land and (or 7.32%) is water.
Climate
The data below were taken from 1893 through January 2020, when this chart was made. They were accessed through the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC).
Demographics
As of the
2020 census there were 17,286 people, 7,847 households, and 3,850 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,319 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.65%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 8.39%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.27%
Native American, 2.54%
Asian, 0.13%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 3.88% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 5.13% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino of any race were 5.84% of the population.
There were 7,847 households, out of which 28.55% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.06% were married couples living together, 12.18% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.94% were non-families. 36.05% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.57% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 2.13.
The city's age distribution consisted of 12.7% under the age of 18, 32.5% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,436, and the median income for a family was $52,521. Males had a median income of $24,609 versus $16,650 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $23,901. About 16.8% of families and 27.3% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Charleston is home to
Eastern Illinois University, which has roughly 8,600 undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, Eastern Illinois hosts the
Illinois High School Association's Girls Badminton, Journalism, and Girls and Boys Track and Field State Finals.
The establishment of an
enterprise zone on the northern edge of Charleston has helped attract some manufacturing and industrial jobs, including
Vesuvius USA, ITW
Hi-Cone, and Dietzgen Corporation.
Jimmy John Liautaud
James John Liautaud (born January 12, 1964) is an American restaurateur, who is widely known as the founder and former chairman of Jimmy John's sandwich chain.
In October 2018, Liautaud was included in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest p ...
founded the first
Jimmy John's
Jimmy John's is an American sandwich chain headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983. After Liautaud graduated from high school, his father gave him a choice to either join the military or sta ...
restaurant in Charleston in 1983, occupying premises near the corner of Fourth Street and Lincoln Avenue.
Arts and Culture
Charleston is home to the annual Coles County Fair, which typically runs for a week in the summer. The fair includes animal showings, carnival rides and attractions, a demolition derby, and more. The fair is held at the fairgrounds located at 603 W Madison Ave.
Museums and Libraries
* Charleston Carnegie Public Library
* EIU Tarble Arts Center
* Doudna Fine Arts Center
*
Lincoln Douglas Debate Museum
* Five Mile House
Parks and Recreation
Charleston has seven parks (one of which is a state park) and six trails, only one of which is not part of Lake Charleston (the Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail).
Lake Charleston
Lake Charleston lies approximately two miles (3km) southeast of the city center. It covers 330 acres of surface area, and has a maximum depth of and average depth of . Fishing and boating are allowed, although there is a no-wake regulation. There are five trails in the park area around the lake, with the longest trail looping around the lake with a length of .
List of Parks
*
Fox Ridge State Park
* Morton Park
* Sister City Park
* Kiwanis Park
* North Park
* VFW Way Park
* Reasor Park
Parks & Recreation Department
Charleston's Parks & Recreation Department offers a variety of services, including before & after school clubs, a day club, dog training classes, and children sports leagues.
Government
City Manager
Charleston is run under a City Manager style of government, where the City Manager is the city's chief administrative officer and oversees the City Council. The City Manager is an appointed position. As of September 18, 2003, R. Scott Smith, a former Parks & Recreation director, officially became Charleston's City Manager after serving as interim manager since August 9, 2003 and continues to hold that position as of January 2022.
City Council & Mayor
The City Council is an elected legislative body of the City of Charleston, of which the mayor is a part. They make policy decisions based on recommendations and information from the City Manager. Brandon Combs was appointed mayor of Charleston June 30, 2015 and continues to hold the office.
Education
Charleston is served by
Charleston Community Unit School District 1
Charleston Community Unit School District 1 is a unified school district based in Charleston, the county seat of Coles County, Illinois.
History
It was created through the consolidation of the charter school district it was formed from and over ...
, one of three school districts located in the county of Coles. The district itself is composed of six schools: Ashmore Elementary School (PreK-4), Mark Twain Elementary School (PreK and K), Carl Sandburg Elementary School (1-3), Jefferson Elementary School (4-6), Charleston Middle School (7-8), and
Charleston High School (9-12).
Eastern Illinois University is a
public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...
in Charleston and has served the community since 1895.
Lakeview College of Nursing has a campus located in Charleston.
Media
Charleston is served by the JG-TC (Journal Gazette & Times Courier) local newspaper and Eastern Illinois University's daily newspaper ''
The Daily Eastern News''
Infrastructure
Charleston is located approximately east of
Interstate 57
Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...
's
Mattoon exit.
Illinois Route 16 serves as the city's main east-west road, titled Lincoln Ave. within city limits.
Highways
* Illinois Route 16 (Lincoln Ave.)
* Illinois Route 130 (18th St./Olive Ave.)
* Illinois Route 316 (Madison Ave./State St.)
Airport
Charleston is served by the
Coles County Memorial Airport
Coles County Memorial Airport is between Mattoon and Charleston in Coles County, Illinois. Owned by the Coles County Airport Authority, it is five miles east of Mattoon and six miles west of Charleston. The National Plan of Integrated Airport S ...
(MTO), which is approximately west of Charleston. Established in 1953, the airport received commercial service until 2000, and now serves as a public general aviation facility.
Mass Transit
Charleston is serviced by two main transit routes: the Charleston Zip Line run by
Dial-A-Ride which services the general city area, and the Panther Shuttle, which mainly services the Eastern Illinois University campus. The Zip Line has been suspended until further notice due to COVID-19.
Rail
Charleston does not receive direct passenger rail service, however
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
's ''
Illini and Saluki
The ''Illini'' and ''Saluki'' are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak along a route between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. They are part of Amtrak's Illinois Service and are primarily funded by the state of Illinois. The route is ...
'' and
''City of New Orleans'' routes stop in neighboring
Mattoon. Freight-wise, Charleston was serviced by the
Eastern Illinois Railroad, which was acquired by the
Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad, which now services businesses in the region.
Healthcare
Charleston is serviced by the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, whose main campus is approximately west of Charleston. There is a Walk-In Clinic located within the city itself.
Notable people
*
Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls
Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls (born April 23, 1968) is an American professional female bodybuilding champion, fitness, and figure competitor.
Early life and education
Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls (born Kim Chizevsky) was born in 1968 in Charleston, Illino ...
, IFBB pro bodybuilder
*
Ronald W. Davis, director of th
Stanford Genome Technology Center biochemist, geneticist, highly awarded, lately working to cure
ME/CFS and other illnesses
*
Frank K. Dunn
Frank Kershner Dunn (November 13, 1854 – August 8, 1940) was an American lawyer and judge, who was thrice elected to the Illinois Supreme Court, serving from 1907 to 1933.
Born in Mount Gilead, Ohio, Dunn received his bachelor's degree from Ke ...
, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
*
Jim Edgar
James Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Previously he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1976 to 1979 and as Illinois Secretary of State ...
, governor of Illinois from 1990 to 1998, was raised in Charleston and graduated from Eastern Illinois University
*
Jeff Gossett, longtime journeyman punter who played in the
NFL for 16 years
*
George Hilton Jones III, historian and author
*
Joshua Scott Jones,
Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...
recording artists (
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
) and one-half of the duo "
Steel Magnolia"
*
Tom Koch, longtime comedy writer for ''
Mad Magazine
Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to:
Geography
* Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia
* Mád, a village in Hungary
* Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code
* Mad River (disambiguation), several ...
'' and
Bob and Ray
Bob and Ray were an American comedy duo whose career spanned five decades, composed of comedians Bob Elliott (1923–2016) and Ray Goulding (1922–1990). The duo's format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, suc ...
*
David Lamb, musician and songwriter for
Brown Bird; born in Charleston in 1977
*
James John Liautaud, founder of the
Jimmy John's
Jimmy John's is an American sandwich chain headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983. After Liautaud graduated from high school, his father gave him a choice to either join the military or sta ...
restaurant franchise
*
Lee Lynch, Illinois newspaper editor and politician
*
Rex Morgan, basketball player
*
Marty Pattin
Martin William Pattin (April 6, 1943 – October 3, 2018) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 475 games in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher. He pitched for the California Angels (1968), Seattle Pilots / ...
, pitcher for the
California Angels,
Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers,
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
and
Kansas City Royals
*
Sir Curtis Price, the Principal of the Royal Academy of Music and a professor of music at the University of London; was raised in Charleston
*
Zeke Rosebraugh, pitcher for the
Pittsburgh Pirates; born in Charleston
*
Stan Royer
Stanley Dean Royer (born August 31, 1967 in Olney, Illinois) is a former third baseman/first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from through for the St. Louis Cardinals (1991–1994) and Boston Red Sox (1994). Listed at 6' 3", 195  ...
, former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player. Graduated from Charleston High School
*
Willis R. Shaw, Illinois state senator; born in Charleston
*
Larry Stuffle, member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1977 to 1985. He was born in Charleston and represented the area in the Illinois House of Representatives.
*
Gregg Toland
Gregg Wesley Toland, A.S.C. (May 29, 1904 – September 28, 1948) was an American cinematographer known for his innovative use of techniques such as deep focus, examples of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' ''Citizen Kane'' (19 ...
, cinematographer of ''
Citizen Kane'' and ''
Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...
'' (for which he won an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
), was born and raised in Charleston.
References
External links
*
Charleston Tourism OfficeEastern Illinois UniversityCharleston CUSD #11994 reenactment of Lincoln-Douglas Debate in Charlestontelevised by
C-SPANDebate previewan
Debate review
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Illinois
Cities in Coles County, Illinois
County seats in Illinois
Populated places established in 1831