Carterville, Illinois

Carterville
City
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Williamson
Coordinates	37°45′40.03″N 89°4′46.52″W / 37.7611194°N 89.0795889°W / 37.7611194; -89.0795889
Area	5.28 sq mi (14 km2)
- land	5.19 sq mi (13 km2)
- water	0.09 sq mi (0 km2)
Density	1,061.8/sq mi (410/km2)
Mayor	Bradley Robinson (D)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	62918
Area code	618
Location of Carterville within Illinois

Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States, geographically situated between Carbondale and Marion. The city is located next to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge's 44,000 acres (180 km²) of land and water contain a wide diversity of flora and fauna. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,496. The city is part of the Carbondale-Marion combined statistical area and city has grown considerably as a residential community of Carbondale and Marion.

Carterville was founded by George M. McNeill and Laban Carter. McNeill married Olive Herrin of Herrin Prairie and in 1866 they settled on the farm now known as Carterville. Carter came to Williamson County in 1864, purchased 100 acres (0.40 km²) of land, and helped organize and secure a post office for Carterville in 1871. The town was named in his honor. McNeill was one of the youngest members of the Union army during the American Civil War. He enlisted at 16 and was with General Sherman during his March to the Sea.

According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of 5.28 square miles (13.7 km²), of which 5.19 square miles (13.4 km²) (or 98.30%) is land and 0.09 square miles (0.23 km²) (or 1.70%) is water.

Carterville is home to John A. Logan College, named for the local American Civil War hero and politician John A. Logan. A college of approximately 8,000 students, John A. Logan College was featured in Rolling Stone magazine as the nation's fifth best community college and in 2004 was recognized as one of the fastest growing community colleges in the nation.