Carlyle 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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York ** Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States. The population was 3,253 at the 2020 census. Carlyle is located approximately east of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and is home to Illinois' largest man-made lake, Carlyle Lake, and to the General Dean Suspension Bridge, a suspension bridge that is the only one of its kind in Illinois and crosses the

Kaskaskia River The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 in central and southern Illinois in the U ...

History

In 1811 or 1812, a man named John Hill built one of several "block" houses along the Goshen Trail, located at what is currently 201 Fairfax Street. The houses were reportedly built to serve as a line of defense against Native Americans. John Hill built the first house to be located in what has become Carlyle. He also established what could be considered Carlyle's first business: a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

to carry traffic across the Kaskaskia River, including a small shelter at the river which served as a

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

. In 1816, Charles Slade and two of his brothers reached the John Hill settlement and bought him out. Charles farmed the land, took over the ferry, and within a year partnered with a man named Hubbard to start the first store, a mercantile business located at what is now 301 Fairfax Street. In 1818, a man named Calvin Barnes laid out town lots. On March 10, 1819, a post office was first established under the name Carlisle, Illinois. This spelling might have been a clerical error. The area was settled after the 1809 creation of the

Illinois Territory The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ...

but before Illinois achieved statehood, six to seven years after John Hill had already built his establishment. Illinois' first state capitol was located in

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

, but in 1820 the state decided that it should be moved. Carlyle lost to Vandalia by one vote. In 1824, the State of Illinois created Clinton County by carving it out of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, Bond, and Fayette counties. Carlyle was to be the county seat should land be donated for this purpose. Charles Slade donated of property so that the county seat would be located in Carlyle. Carlyle was founded in 1818 by Charles W. Slade, father of Joseph "Jack" Slade, who named the town after his grandmother's family. It was incorporated as a town on 2/10/1837 and incorporated as a city on 4/17/1884. Carlyle celebrated 150 years and used the 1837 date. Charles Slade pushed hard for Carlyle to become the state capital of Illinois, but lost by one vote to Vandalia in 1819. In 1824,

was formed, and Carlyle became the county seat in July 1825, both at the initiative of Charles Slade.

Geography

Carlyle is located slightly east of the center of Clinton County at (38.612642, -89.370789). The

flows through the easternmost part of the city out of Carlyle Dam, located just northeast of the city limits and which impounds Carlyle Lake, the largest lake wholly in Illinois.

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

passes through the city, leading east to Salem and west to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Illinois Route 127 Illinois Route 127 is a north–south highway in central and southern Illinois. Its southern terminus is at Illinois Route 3 near Olive Branch and its northern terminus at Interstate 55, along with the southern terminus of Illinois Route 4 ...

leads north to Greenville and south to Nashville, Illinois. The General Dean Suspension Bridge, built in 1859 and named after Major General William F. Dean in 1953, crosses the Kaskaskia River just north of the current US 50 bridge. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Carlyle has a total area of , of which (or 99.97%) is land and (or 0.03%) is water.

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 3,253 people, 1,442 households, and 1,041 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,480 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.56%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.90%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.86% from other races, and 5.47% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.34% of the population. There were 1,442 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.50% were married couples living together, 19.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.81% were non-families. 24.48% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.74% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 2.34. The city's age distribution consisted of 17.7% under the age of 18, 18.3% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 25% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $54,750, and the median income for a family was $67,188. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $29,296 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $27,101. About 10.9% of families and 11.4% 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 ...

, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 30.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Herman J. C. Beckemeyer, Illinois state legislator, lawyer, and mayor of Carlyle * Sidney Breese, circuit court judge, US senator, Illinois Supreme Court justice, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives * William F. Dean, major general,

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Elias Smith Dennis, Union Army general in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

* James Donnewald, state treasurer * Pat Jarvis, pitcher for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

Patsy McGaffigan Mark Andrew "Patsy" McGaffigan (September 12, 1888 – December 22, 1940) was a Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop who played for two seasons. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American p ...

, infielder for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

* Edwin P. Ramsey, United States Army officer * Mel Simons, outfielder for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

* Charles Slade, US marshal, congressman *

Jack Slade Joseph Alfred "Jack" Slade, (January 22, 1831 – March 10, 1864), was a stagecoach and Pony Express superintendent, instrumental in the opening of the American West and the archetype of the Western gunslinger. Born in Carlyle, Illinois, he ...

, American frontier figure, gunslinger * William A. J. Sparks, US congressman

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control 1818 establishments in Illinois Cities in Clinton County, Illinois Cities in Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1818