Johnston City is a city in Williamson County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The population was 3,348 at the 2020 census. This was a center of coal mining in the early 20th century, having a peak of population in the 1920s. The mining jobs attracted many immigrants from Europe.

History

Johnston City was founded in 1894 as a stop along the Chicago, Paducah and Memphis Railroad (later part of the

Chicago and Eastern Illinois The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two Wor ...

), and named for the contracting firm that constructed the railroad. The eastern part of the city was originally known as Jeffersonville. It was surveyed in 1853. During the American Civil War it was a prosperous village. The post office was established in 1852 under the name Lake Creek. It was moved to Johnston City in 1903 but it was not until several years after that that Jeffersonville was fully amalgamated into Johnston City.Jeffersonville History
/ref> In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of immigrant miners from Italy, Wales and other areas arrived to work in the coal mines. There were tensions among the different ethnic groups, especially when miners went out on strike for better wages and conditions. On June 10, 1915, the city was the site of the

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

of Joe Strando, an Italian immigrant miner from Sicily, by a mob of 300 American men. He was taken from the jail where he was held as a suspect in the murder of Edward Chapman, a wealthy local citizen, and wounding of his daughter."SLAYER LYNCHED BY ILLINOIS MOB"
''Belvidere Daily Republican'' (Belvidere, Illinois), 11 June 1915; accessed 2 February 2017 Sicilians were outraged and gathered reinforcements; Americans were arrayed against them. The governor sent in three companies of militia to suppress violence. Six years later, immigrant Settino de Santis confessed to the murder of Chapman, saying that the man was accidentally shot while visiting at the home of mine foreman Ben Schull. De Santis and two other men shot at Schull in retaliation for having been fired. De Santis confessed before he was executed in another capital case. With the decline of mining, the number of jobs fell. By 1940 the city's population was just under 4,000. For 2015 the US Census estimated the population at 3500. In the 1960s a decline in coal miners occurred due to safety standards in the coal mines.

Geography

Johnston City is located at . According to the 2010 census, Johnston City has a total area of , of which (or 97.17%) is land and (or 2.83%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 3,557 people, 1,560 households, and 1,010 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,745 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.07%

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 on ...

, 0.11%

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 ...

, 0.14% Native American, 0.06%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.08% 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 0.53% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.07% of the population. There were 1,560 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,143, and the median income for a family was $32,363. Males had a median income of $30,038 versus $16,853 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 $12,764. About 19.6% of families and 22.5% 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 26.9% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Williamson County, Illinois Lynching in the United States 1852 establishments in Illinois