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West Frankfort is a city in
Franklin County, Illinois Franklin County is a county in Southern Illinois. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 37,804. The largest city is West Frankfort and the county seat is Benton. This area of Southern Illinois is known locally as "Little Egypt". Histo ...
. The population was 7,275 at the 2020 census. The city is well known for its rich history of coal. The city is part of the
Metro Lakeland Metro Lakeland is a name that was coined in the 1960s for an area of southern Illinois that is centered on the intersections of Interstate 57, Interstate 24, and Illinois Route 13—a four-lane east-west highway connecting the communities of Murp ...
area.


History

Although one might associate the name "West Frankfort" with the city "
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
" in Germany, or Frankfort in
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, the truth is far more local. Around 1810, early Tennessee settler Francis ("Frank") Jordan and his seven brothers began the construction of a fort atop a hill in present-day Franklin County. Completed in 1811, the fort was named "Frank's Fort," in Jordan's honor.Official City Website
Retrieved on October 29, 2007
Frank's Fort was built in today's Williamson County, Ill., near Corinth. A few miles to the east, Francis' brother, Thomas Jordan, built "Jordan's Fort" in Cave Township, Franklin County, Ill., near the town of Thompsonville. The construction of these forts was in response to the danger of attack during Tecumseh's War, which culminated in the
Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between United States Armed Forces, American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and tribal forces associated with Sh ...
in 1811. Then-governor 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 ...
, Ninian Edwards, actively encouraged the construction of these forts and offered the services of the Saline Militia in their erection. Thus, both Jordan family forts were built with the help of the Illinois Militia for safety of the civilians. Since the Shawnee Trail, an important trading route linking
Kaskaskia, Illinois Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois on the Mississippi River. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, the village was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country and was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population p ...
and Old Shawneetown, Illinois, ran along the high ground in the vicinity of the fort, this area became an attractive destination for settlers in search of cheap land made available by the recently passed
Bit Act The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as ...
of 1850. The resulting settlement took the name of the nearby fort, which was subsequently shortened to "Frankfort." Frankfort grew quickly during this period, with its population rivaling that of Chicago, at the time. Frankfort was Franklin County's first
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 ...
until 1839, when the lower half of the county was declared as Williamson County. After railroad tracks linking Chicago, Paducah, and Memphis, were laid west of Frankfort, many businesses and residents migrated to the new commercial center forming near the tracks. This new community became known as West Frankfort, for its location to the west of Frankfort. The two cities eventually merged and retained the name West Frankfort. The area of West Frankfort formerly known as ''Frankfort'' is still sometimes referred to locally as ''Frankfort Heights'' or, more commonly, simply as "The Heights", due to its higher elevation relative to the rest of the city. A post office was maintained in Frankfort Heights until its destruction by fire in 2004, making West Frankfort one of the smallest cities in the United States to have two ZIP codes (the other zip code is designated as "Frankfort Heights, Illinois"). Beginning in 1904, the Deering Coal Mine Company took Franklin County and West Frankfort from no coal production in 1900 to being the #1 coal producer in Illinois by 1917. Once the mines opened, the population increased 3,500 in seven years. By 1927, West Frankfort's population had reached 19,896. In the late 1940s, four theatres and a minor league baseball team (see below) marked the downtown area.


Tri-State Tornado of 1925


1929 coal mine explosion

On December 1, 1929, an explosion at the Old Ben Coal Company's No. 8 Mine killed 7 people.


1947 coal mine explosion

The Old Ben No. 8 Mine exploded again on July 24, 1947, killing 27 people.


West Frankfort Cardinals

The West Frankfort Cardinals were a minor-league baseball team from 1947 to 1950, serving as a Class D affiliate of the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
.


1951 coal mine explosion

The Orient No. 2 coal mine exploded on December 21, 1951, killing 119 men. The mine, located outside of West Frankfort, was one of the area's major employers. According to lifelong residents, everyone in West Frankfort was affected by this tragedy, including grade schoolers of the time who remember their own losses or the suffering of classmates. Many residents had even said they could never celebrate Christmas again. After the catastrophe, the West Frankfort Junior High School became a temporary morgue for identification of the bodies, with many calls going out for funeral directors. The explosion received national attention from the wire services, newspapers and ''
Life Magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...
''. Illinois Governor
Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...
visited the site to support those mourning. The
United States Bureau of Mines The United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary Federal government of the United States, United States government agency in the 20th century that conducted scientific research and disseminated information on the extraction, processing ...
called the explosion "avoidable," with the disaster resulting in Congress passing the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952. In 2020, after years of planning and funding, locals unveiled a new $40,000 (~$ in ) memorial monument in Coal Miners Memorial Park, which records the names of all 119 men killed in the disaster.


Eclipse crossroads of America

The area was in totality during the
solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the "Great American Eclipse" by some media, was a total solar eclipse visible within a band that spanned the contiguous United States from the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic c ...
, with Giant City State Park, approximately to the southwest, experiencing the longest period of totality during the eclipse (approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds). It was also within the path of totality of the solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, making it one of only a handful of cities within the direct paths of both eclipses.


Geography

West Frankfort is located at (37.898545, -88.923315). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, West Frankfort has a total area of , of which (or 99.26%) is land and (or 0.74%) is water.


Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 7,275 people, 3,204 households, and 1,950 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,766 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.60%
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 ...
, 0.67%
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 ...
, 0.38% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.47% from other races, and 5.31% 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 2.12% of the population. There were 3,204 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.08% were married couples living together, 20.44% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.14% were non-families. 35.33% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.91% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 2.33. The city's age distribution consisted of 22.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,938, and the median income for a family was $32,018. Males had a median income of $36,964 versus $19,228 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 $18,268. About 30.2% of families and 32.6% 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 48.1% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

* Clyde L. Choate, politician, World War II Medal of Honor recipient * William A. Denning, Illinois Supreme Court justice and state representative, practiced law in Frankfort * Kenneth J. Gray, politician, World War II Victory Medal recipient * Tim Lee Hall, politician * Max Morris, athlete, played in both the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
and AAFC * Hal Smith, member of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series championship team * Joe Wendryhoski, athlete, former NFL lineman for the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
and
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...


Events, media, and recognition

Each year West Frankfort hosts the Old King Coal Festival. This four-day event is held every May. Now coinciding with Rend Lake Festival, held in nearby Benton. Formerly the Old King Coal Festival was held in the third week of September; to pay tribute to coal miners with a parade, concerts, pageants, carnival rides and a wide variety of food. West Frankfort is also home to Candy Cane Lane, a large lights display featured every year around Christmas. The display involves several blocks of homes, including a large display by a local art teacher. In 2019, areas of Candy Cane Lane were featured on the ABC show '' The Great Christmas Light Fight''. West Frankfort is home to the Frankfort Area Historical Museum, which operates in a renovated 3 story Logan Grade School. The Society features a large research library, and maintains a microfilm of U.S. Census and local newspapers. West Frankfort was formerly home to the Daily American Newspaper, which operated for nearly 100 years. The newspaper was replaced by the West Frankfort Gazette, and replaced again by the Franklin County Gazette as of 2020.
Three Angels Broadcasting Network The Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN) is a Christian media television and radio network which broadcasts Seventh-day Adventist religious, music and health-oriented programming, based in West Frankfort, Illinois, United States. Although ...
(3ABN), a Christian broadcasting network, operates their world headquarters outside of town. WITM-FM on 88.7 will be 3ABN Radio Music Channel's first affiliate to play Christian music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. West Frankfort was formerly the home of at least two radio stations, and local media source WFCN News operates outside of town.


References


External links

*
West Frankfort ''Daily American'' newspaper
{{authority control Cities in Franklin County, Illinois Cities in Illinois Populated places in Southern Illinois Populated places established in 1811 Coal mining disasters in Illinois 1811 establishments in Illinois Territory 1951 mining disasters 1951 in Illinois 1951 disasters in the United States December 1951 in the United States 1947 mining disasters 1929 mining disasters