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Crab Orchard, Illinois facts for kids

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Crab Orchard
Main road through Crab Orchard
Main road through Crab Orchard
Crab Orchard is located in Illinois
Crab Orchard
Crab Orchard
Location in Illinois
Country United States
State Illinois
County Williamson
Area
 • Total 1.43 sq mi (3.70 km2)
 • Land 1.40 sq mi (3.61 km2)
 • Water 0.04 sq mi (0.09 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 356
 • Density 255.20/sq mi (98.50/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
62959
Area code(s) 618
FIPS code 17-17094

Crab Orchard is an unincorporated census-designated place east of Marion in Williamson County, Illinois, located along an old route of Illinois Route 13 now designated Crab Orchard Road. The upper branches of Crab Orchard Creek which eventually feed into Crab Orchard Lake flow nearby and gave the community its name. For a brief time during the Civil War, it was known as Erwinsville, which is the name in the original plat of the village. In its early days, it had the nickname "Steal-Easy." The Crab Orchard post office was established 18 August 1853 and discontinued operations 15 May 1924. It's now served by the Marion post office. As of the 2010 census, Crab Orchard has a population of 333. Crab Orchard has an area of 1.430 square miles (3.70 km2); 1.395 square miles (3.61 km2) of this is land, and 0.035 square miles (0.091 km2) is water.

Community services

Crab Orchard Community Unit School District #3 serves the community and surrounding area. The district provides classes from Kindergarten to 12th grade. The schools teams have been known as the "Trojans." The high school is an outgrowth of the old private Crab Orchard Academy begun by Professor James W. Turner in 1890 that operated until 1913. A two-year high school began in 1915, a junior year was added in the 1920s and it became a four-year high school in 1938. School district consolidation led to the creation of the unit district in 1952. The current grade school building dates to about 1974 and the 7-12 grade building opened in October 2004.

The Crab Orchard Public Library District serves the area with its main library in Crab Orchard and satellite services at Pittsburg and Creal Springs.

Fire protection is provided by Firemen Jon Stephens along with the Williamson County Fire Protection District. Station #3 is located on the north edge of the community. Treated water is provided by the private Coal Valley Water District.



Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
2020 356
U.S. Decennial Census

Notable people

  • Cory Bailey, professional baseball player, attended school in Crab Orchard.
  • Gerry Glasco, college softball coach at Louisiana and former head coach at the USSSA Pride and the Scrap Yard Dawgs of the National Pro Fastpitch

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Crab Orchard (Illinois) para niños

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