Carmi () 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 ...

of White County,

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 United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, along the Little Wabash River, where the population was 5,240 at the 2010 census.

History

Carmi post office has been in operation since 1817, and then a WPA oil on canvas mural called ''Service to the Farmer'' by Davenport Griffen was first displayed there in 1939. Carmi is a

biblical name Names play a variety of roles in the Bible. They sometimes relate to the nominee's role in a Books of the Bible, biblical narrative, as in the case of Nabal, a foolish man whose name means "fool". Names in the Bible can represent human hopes, d ...

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Carmi has a total area of , of which (or 98.78%) is land and (or 1.22%) is water.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 5,422 people, 2,390 households, and 1,477 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,667 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.30%

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 ...

, 0.48%

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 ...

, 0.35% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.57% 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 0.65% of the population. There were 2,390 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.78. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 25.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,667, and the median income for a family was $32,456. Males had a median income of $30,735 versus $16,693 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 $15,886. About 11.7% of families and 15.1% 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 21.4% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

College

* Southeastern Illinois College David L. Stanley White County Center

Public

* Carmi-White County Community School District #5: ** Carmi-White County High School - grades 7–12 ** Carmi-White County Middle School - grades 4–6 ** Jefferson Attendance Center - grades 2–3 ** Lincoln Attendance Center - grades K-1

Private

Carmi Christian School

Media

Radio

* WRUL 97.3 FM *

WROY WROY (1460 AM, "All Oldies 1460") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Carmi, Illinois. WROY broadcasts an oldies format and is owned by Mark and Saundra Lange, through licensee The Original Company, Inc. History WR ...

1460 AM

Print

* '' Carmi Times'' * ''Carmi Chronicle''

Notable people

* King Brockett, professional baseball player * Orlando Burrell, White County judge, White County Sheriff, congressman * Roy Clippinger, congressman * Everton Conger, Union Army Lieutenant colonel (

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 ...

), federal territorial judge, involved in manhunt for

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

* Caswell J. Crebs, Illinois Supreme Court justice * John M. Crebs, Union Army Lieutenant colonel (

), congressman * Josh Elder, comic book creator ('' Mail Order Ninja'', '' StarCraft: Frontline'') * Ivan A. Elliott, Illinois Attorney General * Frederick J. Karch, Brigadier General with the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

(

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

) * Samuel D. Lockwood, Illinois Attorney General, Illinois Secretary of State, Illinois Supreme Court justice * Glenn Poshard, state senator, congressman, Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate, and president of

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

John McCracken Robinson John McCracken Robinson (April 10, 1794 – April 25, 1843) was a United States senator from Illinois. Born near Georgetown, Kentucky, he attended the common schools and graduated from Transylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky, Lexington. He ...

, senator, Illinois Supreme Court justice *

Run Kid Run Run Kid Run is a Christian pop/rock band from Carmi, Illinois and Morganfield, Kentucky, formed in 2006. Their debut album '' This Is Who We Are'', was released on May 18, 2006 through Tooth & Nail Records. All of the members, except Paul Stewa ...

, Christian band *

Side Walk Slam Side Walk Slam was an American three-piece punk rock band, that would later form the band Run Kid Run. The band formed in Southern Illinois in a thriving local punk scene. Originally signed to Boot to Head Records, the band was later picked up ...

, punk rock band * Charles Peyton, AKA Jeff Stryker, Actor, adult film actor, AVN Award Hall of Fame inductee Hustler Hall of Fame, RuPaul Lifetime Achievement Award, Major motion picture Star, fashion model * James R. Williams, congressman * William Wilson, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070219105246/http://home.midwest.net/~cbconly/carmi.htm {{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in White County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1816 1816 establishments in Illinois Territory