The following is an edited version of a chapter of my thesis
project taking a brief look at the history of my hometown, Centralia,
IL. While I knew a lot of what I came across during my research, I also
came across a lot that I didn’t know. For those of you who are from the
Centralia area, I really encourage you to do some research on the city.
There’s an incredible amount of information and history behind the town,
some of it incredibly interesting. For those of you not from the
Centralia area, I suggest you do some research into your own hometown.
You never know what you may dig up, for example, I found out through my
research that I grew up within a mile of the largest oil producing
fields east of the Mississippi River in the 1940’s. Sure there’s
evidence as there’s oil derricks still in the fields today, but I’d have
never imagined the magnitude and impact those fields had on the
surrounding region. The Beginning Downtown Centralia – Year Unknown
The history of the city begins around 1852, when the Illinois Central
Railroad was being developed and laid out. Ground was broken for the
railroad in what was later to be called Centralia in 1854. Because
accommodations were needed for the men that would be working on the
railroad, cottages, cabins, and structures for necessities quickly
sprang up close by. The city was later named Centralia in honor of the
Illinois Central. As the railroad neared completion numerous types of
businesses and services began showing up around the train depot, from
churches and doctors, to attorneys and orchards. The State Fair was held
in Centralia in 1858, where Abraham Lincoln and Stephan A. Douglas
would both attend and make appearances as part of their campaign during
the 1858 campaign for U.S. Senator from Illinois. On March 1st , 1859, a
charter was adopted and Centralia officially became a city. Elections
were set to elect municipal officials. Centralia was an important city
during the Civil War. With it being a transportation hub for the region,
military men could be trained and easily moved via railroad all over
the country. Railroads from Chicago connected to Centralia in 1882 and
from Louisville, St. Louis, and Evansville, IN in 1887. As the railroad
flourished after it was finished, the coal industry built up steam in
the early 1870’s as a seven foot vein of coal was discovered, and an
eight foot vein found just a decade later. In 1906, the Central Coal
Mining Company organized and a year later, coal was found in their No. 5
shaft.
The City Develops Downtown Centralia – 1911
In the early twentieth century, the city began building a modern
infrastructure, sewers were built, stone sidewalks were laid, and roads
were paved in 1904. Lake Centralia came into existence in 1908 with
water filtration systems for the lake by 1924. Fairview Park, which in
the past was a fairground, became the city’s first park in 1920 and a
pool was installed in 1938. Other recreational opportunities were
presented with the establishment of Community Beach in 1927 and the
Community Center in 1941, although Community Beach was quickly abandoned
by most when the pool at Fairview Park was constructed. Industries and
businesses were booming in early to mid-1900’s. The railroad was
experiencing a boom and the coal industry increased and peaked during
this time as well. Centralia was a producer of numerous products, from
nails and envelopes to stoves and candy bars. Business was so good,
visitors from all parts of the state came to see the booming town and be
entertained. Electric streetcars took the place of horse drawn ones in
1906 and ran to surrounding villages and towns. Downtown Centralia – Early 20th Century
Education in Centralia grew tremendously before World War II. The
original high school was built in 1904, and a business school and six
elementary schools were added before the depression. In 1940, Centralia
Township Junior College was established. It would later need to move due
to needed expansion and was renamed Kaskaskia Community College in
1967. St. Mary’s Hospital was built in 1909 and led the way in
healthcare improvements. Haley’s Eye Infirmary became a cornerstone
institution in 1912. Both of these health facilities would be tested in
the following decades by the deadly flu epidemic of 1918 and the
outburst of tuberculosis. This was the same time frame in which lunch
and milk programs were implemented within schools of Centralia.
Agriculture flourished around Centralia. The railroads made it easy for
farmers to move crops and the soil was great for farming anything from
corn to fruit-producing trees. Major producers in the area grew corn,
beans, cattle, hogs, apples, peaches, pears, and strawberries, amongst
others. Productivity was improved when the University of Illinois
experimental farms and Farm Bureau provided leadership in more
scientific farming.
The oil boom was most likely the third most important industry in
Centralia’s history behind coal, and, of course, the railroad. 1937 was
the year it all started, as the Adams Oil and Gas Company discovered oil
just northwest of Centralia. By the next year, there were 102
oil-producing wells and 111 drilling operations. The field had produced
nearly 300,000 barrels of oil and was producing of over 1,000 barrels
per day on just over 1,000 acres. That same summer the focus would shift
to the Ed Tate farm just east of Centralia, as the Texas Oil Company
struck black gold and struggled to contain the flow. At its peak, Tate
farm fields were the largest producer of oil east of the Mississippi
River, with almost 2500 wells yielding three hundred thousand barrels of
oil per day and over two hundred million cubic feet of natural gas. The
oil boom in Centralia brought people from all over the country to the
small town. Centralia made over a million and a half dollars from oil
revenue. This was put back into the community through a new city hall
and new community center. I actually grew up less than a mile from these
fields. Citation Oil & Gas, based out of Houston, TX, acquired the
fields in 1998 from Texaco. From 2005-07 Citation constructed a gas
plant there. 1940’s Postcard of the Lake Centralia-Salem Oil Fields
Sports in Centralia were very popular in the early twentieth century.
Independent and semi-professional baseball teams were abundant from
1867 to 1950. A state championship was captured in 1869 by the Centralia
Egyptians and success followed for nearly the next century. In 1947,
Centralia received its first professional team, an affiliate of the
Chicago Cubs. They were later renamed the Sterlings in 1949 and won
pennants in 1949 and 1950. Football was played in 1889, but hardly
resembled the game we know today. In 1905, however, there was
considerable football action and it more closely resembled the game we
know today. Teams of school and non-school participants played games
against nearby towns. However, due to lack of safety equipment,
Centralia Township High School put an end to the game for twenty years,
not to be played again at the high school level again until 1925.
Centralia High School has had eight seasons without losses. Although the
high school football team has seen its successes in the past,
basketball is by far the sport of the city. Centralia High school was
credited with being the winningest high school in the nation until the
early 1990’s with three state championships and a number of other
appearances in the state tournament. The most famous athletes to come
from Centralia are Lowell Spurgeon, Dwight, “Dike” Eddleman, Bobby Joe
Mason, and Gary Gaetti. Lowell Spurgeon set state records in track and
had an amazing football career at the University of Illinois. “Dike”
Eddleman is the most famed athlete from Centralia. He held numerous high
school state records as well had an amazing football and track career
at the University of Illinois, but his Olympic medals are what set him
apart from the rest. The University of Illinois’ “Athlete of the Year”
award is actually named the “Dike Eddleman Award”. Bobby Joe Mason was a
versatile athlete in football, basketball, and track and was a member
of the Harlem Globetrotters for years. Stained Glass at Old Trout Gym.
Entertainment was plentiful in Centralia. The circus has been popular
from the days of the Civil War until today. Traveling entertainment and
opera houses were the most popular form of entertainment before the
1900’s. Opera houses remained popular in Centralia, as the Pittenger
Grand Opera House was the most elegant theater south of Springfield. A
movie theater became popular around the turn of the century with the
first moving picture playing at the Pittenger in 1905. The Illinois
Theater opened in 1922 with an amazing 1,200 seats. The first talkie was
shown at the Illinois Theater in 1929. Illinois Theater; Downtown CentraliaPost-War Years Former Coke Bottling Plant; Centralia, IL
Housing shortages and rising prices welcomed the servicemen returning
home all over the United States, and Centralia was no different. There
was much expansion 8 in the 1940s as the first radio broadcast took
place. The VFW purchased the Shell building, and new building projects
took place, the most popular being the Art Deco style Coca- Cola plant.
However, with this continued growth came a disaster. In 1947, the Number
5 Mine collapsed and killed one hundred and eleven miners. This
disaster is the second worst mining disaster in the United States since
1940. Soon after the disaster, the Foundation Park system opened
featuring a pond, where the Centralia Balloon Fest would later be held.
The Centralia Centennial was held in 1953 with much honoring of its
past. The town had definitely changed over the course of a century. The
50s and the Centennial brought a number of new items. Telephone dials,
parking meters, low cost government housing, and Pittenger Bandshell
located behind the new Carnegie Library.
Even with all the new came some disappointment. The city population
dropped as unemployment rose due to shops and the mine closing and the
oil fields suffering. Even with the suffering of the 1950s, the 1960s
saw continuing construction as a number of schools, churches, government
facilities, and places to shop continued to be built. A number of
famous people visited Centralia. Richard Nixon visited during
campaigning years of 1952, ’56, and ’60 as well as Barry Goldwater, Ed
Sullivan, and Jimmy Hoffa. The 1970’s saw even more construction and
renovation, as the Library added wings, although not without controversy
regarding the architectural style, expansions occurred at the Municipal
Airport, new construction occurred at the swimming complex at Fairview
Park and in downtown Centralia as well as more churches and schools were
built. Illinois Central Steam Locomotive 2500 Move Day – September 2nd, 1962 – Moved to Fairview Park
In the 1970s, however, there was an increase in crime and drug use.
After the murders of two well-known Centralia men, Centralia was named
as a site for a new state prison. Streaking was seen on the streets and
Ku Klux Klan activity was briefly reported. Desegregation was completed
by the end of the decade. The 1980’s and 90’s saw little action, other
than Hollywood Brand candy factory, a staple of Centralia producing
Paydays since 1937, burned down, the Centralia Orphans basketball team
won their 1500th game, the first school in the country to do so, and
Centralian Jim Brady, took a bullet for President Ronald Reagan during
an assassination attempt. The most important structure built over this
time, however, was the Centralia Carillon. The Carillon is the sixth
largest in the world, standing at one hundred sixty-five feet it
contains sixty-five bells, the largest, known as “Big Tom”, weighs in at
eleven hundred pounds and the smallest at twenty pounds. There are
shows every Wednesday where a carillonist comes and plays for the
public. Centralia has had a number of community traditions and a number
of them survive today. Centralia Carillon at night
Memorial Day observations have undertaken since 1868, with two
different services being done. The Centralia Halloween Parade has been a
staple of the city since 1923 with what has become a Mardi Gras flavor
with colorful floats, bands, and food. Two traditions have stood the
test of time at Centralia High School. The first is May Fete, which was
started in 1913 and is an event in which students vote a “Queen of May”.
Performances by students are performed in front of the May Fete Court
and thousands of community members who attend the event each year. The
other high school tradition is the Centralia Holiday Tournament, which
is the longest running holiday high school basketball tournament in the
state of Illinois. Teams from all over the country, as far as Florida in
recent years, have made appearances at the historic tournament. The
newest tradition of Centralia is the Hot Air Balloon Fest held at
Foundation Park every August. Nearly forty thousand visitors come to the
Balloon Fest from all over during the three days it is held. The
Balloon Fest’s inaugural year was 1990. Trout Gym at the new Centralia High School, which hosts the Holiday Tournament Today Balloon Fest at Foundation Park held in mid-August each year
Centralia has been struggling the past few decades, with a number of
businesses and people leaving the town. The population was down to
12,858 in 2012 from 14,136 in 2000, which is a 9.0% decrease over just a
twelve year period. The problems began when Illinois Central Railroad
began downsizing and laying off employees. Centralia was the division
headquarters and at one time employed nearly one thousand people. Today
that number is much smaller. After the railroad, coal, and oil
industries tapered off, manufacturing companies moved in, and Centralia
had bounced back.
By 2000, unemployment was down to 4.4%, lowest in over a decade,
however, the good times were short-lived. The emerging global economy
has hurt Centralia, as many of the small manufacturing businesses have
left town, outsourced to another country. Prime downtown real estate is
held by a music store and tattoo parlor. Most other stores are empty. A
number of major Centralia employers have left town in recent years. Over
three thousand jobs were lost from 2001-2003 when World Color Press,
Littelfuse Inc., Sealed Air Corp, Meridian Automotive Systems, and Greif
Bros. Corp all closed their doors. Many of the employees at those
factories making a decent living were forced to take a job with much
less pay or relocate. At this point, unemployment was at 11%, and Marion
County had the highest unemployment rate in the state for thirty
months. The top employers in Centralia now are St. Mary’s Hospital and
Centralia Correctional Center. New Centralia High School – Est. 2006
Recently Centralia has seen some new construction. In 2006, a new
high school was built as the existing high school was deemed
insufficient in a few areas. More recently, a new Super Walmart was
recently completed with a new hotel and outlet shops also planned near
the site. A new coffee shop, The Rail, also just opened its doors
downtown. Centralia has the opportunity to remake itself as a young,
artistic community if only they can embrace that image and work toward
providing opportunities.
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