Carbondale, Illinois
city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most populous city in Southern Illinois outside the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis.
Carbondale was established in 1853 and developed as a crossroads of the railroad industry. Today, the major roadways of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51 intersect in the city. The city is located 96 miles (154 km) southeast of St. Louis on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest. It is the home of the main campus of Southern Illinois University.
History
In August 1853, Daniel Harmon Brush, John Asgill Conner, and Dr. William Richart bought a 360-acre (1.5 km2) parcel of land between two proposed railroad station sites (Makanda and De Soto) and two county seats (Murphysboro and Marion).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Carbondale, Illinois” is city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Carbondale, Illinois and city, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q577511. VIAF identifies the subject as 156567148. The Library of Congress control number is n79109853. Authority coordinates are 37.726, -89.220. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 1853.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Carbondale, Illinois”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Carbondale, Illinois primary sources, Carbondale, Illinois archive and Carbondale research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Carbondale, Illinois”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Carbondale, Illinois” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.