Johnston City, Illinois
| Johnston City | |
| City | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Williamson |
| Coordinates | 37°49′15″N 88°55′39″W / 37.82083°N 88.92750°WCoordinates: 37°49′15″N 88°55′39″W / 37.82083°N 88.92750°W |
| Area | 2.12 sq mi (5 km2) |
| - land | 2.06 sq mi (5 km2) |
| - water | 0.06 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Population | 3,557 (2000) |
| Density | 1,820.9/sq mi (703/km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 62951 |
| Area code | 618 |
   Location of Johnston City within Illinois
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Johnston City is a city in Williamson County, south central Illinois, United States. The population was 3,543 at the 2010 census. This was a center of coal mining in the early 20th century, having a peak of population in 1920. The mining jobs attracted many immigrants from Europe.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of immigrant miners from Italy, Wales and other areas arrived to work in the coal mines. There were tensions among the different ethnic groups, especially when miners went out on strike for better wages and conditions. On June 10, 1915, the city was the site of the lynching of Joe Strando, an Italian immigrant miner from Sicily, by a mob of 300 American men. He was taken from the jail where he was held as a suspect in the murder of Edward Chapman, a wealthy local citizen, and wounding of his daughter. Sicilians were outraged and gathered reinforcements; Americans were arrayed against them. The governor sent in three companies of militia to suppress violence.
Six years later, immigrant Settino de Santis confessed to the murder of Chapman, saying that the man was accidentally shot while visiting at the home of mine foreman Ben Schull. De Santis and two other men shot at Schull in retaliation for having been fired. De Santis confessed before he was executed in another capital case.
With the decline of mining, the number of jobs fell. By 1940 the city's population was just under 4,000. For 2015 the US Census estimated the population at 3500.
Johnston City is located at 37°49′15″N 88°55′39″W / 37.820747°N 88.927529°W.
According to the 2010 census, Johnston City has a total area of 2.12 square miles (5.49 km2), of which 2.06 square miles (5.34 km2) (or 97.17%) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km2) (or 2.83%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,557 people, 1,560 households, and 1,010 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,820.9 people per square mile (704.3/km²). There were 1,745 housing units at an average density of 893.3 per square mile (345.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.07% White, 0.11% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.
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