Harrisburg

History

At the beginning of recorded American history, the Harrisburg area was inhabited by several Algonquian tribes, including the Shawnee and Piankashaw, who lived in the dense inland forests. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the Piankashaw tribe was driven out by the more aggressive Shawnee. European settlement in Illinois began with the French from 1690 and reached its peak about 1750, mainly along the Mississippi River. American settlers arrived in 1790. The French came as merchants and missionaries, with farming supplementing the need for trade. The result had benefited both the settlers and the Native Americans. The American migration, however, followed treaties which resulted in land being distributed through American Law, ignoring previous indigenous rights. Encroachment ensued and caused hard feelings between the Native Americans and the settlers who moved into the interior and along migration routes. Many of the Indians allied themselves with the British to resist, though trade with the Americans was an important reason why the Native Americans remained largely peaceful. The town of Harrisburg was platted a few miles south of the junction of the Goshen and Shawneetown–Kaskaskia Trail, two of the first pioneer trade routes in the state. Prior to the War of 1812, most of the population of today's Saline County lived in cabins clustered around blockhouses to protect against Indian attack and dangerous wildlife such as cougars and bears. Permanent settlements in the forested area were inevitable with the influx of more settlers, and the first land entry was made in 1814 by John Wren and Hankerson Rude. By 1840 the settlers outnumbered the Native Americans, and most of the black bear population of the county had been killed off by 1845. Harris along with…

Geography

Harrisburg is located at (37.733765, −88.545873). According to the 2010 census, Harrisburg has a total area of , of which (or 96.91%) is land and (or 3.09%) is water. The square in the center of town, as well as Dorrisville and Gaskins City, stand on top of a series of sandstone bluffs that were once islands rising above natural lowlands, above sea level, dredged by the middle fork of the Saline River. The Saline River was a navigable river used by early settlers for transportation to and from Salt Works just east of Harrisburg. The Saline flowed towards the Ohio and flooded every spring in events called Freshets. The locals called the island "Crusoe's Island". When the area was drained, homes and businesses were built in the floodplain, and it became prone to serious flooding for years to come. The town square in the center of town is a sandstone bluff above sea level, one of the first that start the Shawnee Hills to the south. Topographic maps show the bluffs that rise from the Saline River that wraps the northeast part of the city. Harrisburg is located at the ending point of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which covered about 85 percent of Illinois. The edge of Illinoian ice sheet(s) lay further south than the southernmost extent, i.e. Douglas County, Kansas, of any of the Pre-Illinoian ice sheets. More than of Shawnee National Forest lie to the south of Harrisburg, drawing visitors annually to the Saline County area and the gateway community. The Shawnee National Forest offers much to see and do. The national forest has of roadways, some of streams and frequent waterfalls, numerous ponds and lakes as large as (some with swimming beaches), 13 campgrounds, many picnicking sites, and seven wilderness areas where trails are designed for hiking and horseback…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,168
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,946
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,708
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,547
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,483
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,479
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  2,304
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,133

Largest nearby schools

• Eldorado Elem School
  Elementary · Eldorado · 545 students · 14:1 ratio
• Harrisburg High School
  High · Harrisburg · 544 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• West Side Primary School
  Elementary · Harrisburg · 424 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• East Side Intermediate School
  Elementary · Harrisburg · 359 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Harrisburg Middle School
  Middle · Harrisburg · 331 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Carrier Mills-Stonefort Elem Sch
  Elementary · Carrier Mills · 330 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Eldorado High School
  High · Eldorado · 301 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Eldorado Middle School
  Middle · Eldorado · 231 students · 11.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.58 — 2025-08-09
  2 km ESE of Cynthiana, Indiana
• M 2.53 — 2024-03-05
  6 km ENE of Pinckneyville, Illinois
• M 3.07 — 2023-12-18
  5 km WNW of Waltonville, Illinois
• M 2.52 — 2023-06-03
  7 km N of Nebo, Kentucky
• M 2.52 — 2022-05-17
  6 km NNW of Mount Vernon, Illinois
• M 2.57 — 2022-04-13
  3 km SE of Springerton, Illinois