Crab Orchard, Illinois

Census-designated place in Illinois, United States

37°43′45″N 88°48′15″W / 37.72917°N 88.80417°W / 37.72917; -88.80417CountryUnited StatesStateIllinoisCountyWilliamsonArea

^[1]

• Total1.43 sq mi (3.70 km²) • Land1.40 sq mi (3.61 km²) • Water0.04 sq mi (0.09 km²)Elevation

^[2]

515 ft (157 m)Population

(2020)

• Total356 • Density255.20/sq mi (98.50/km²)Time zoneUTC-6 (CST) • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)ZIP Code

62959

Area code618FIPS code17-17094GNIS feature ID2628548^[2]

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.^[3] As of the 2010 census, Crab Orchard has a population of 333.^[4] 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.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	356		—
U.S. Decennial Census^[5]

Community services

Crab Orchard Community Unit School District 3 serves the community and surrounding area.

The Crab Orchard Public Library District serves the area with its main library in Crab Orchard and satellite services at Pittsburg and Creal Springs.^[6]

Fire protection is provided by Williamson County Fire Protection District. Station #3 is located on the north edge of the community.^[7] Treated water is provided by the private Coal Valley Water District.^[8]

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

References

^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Crab Orchard, Illinois
^ James N. Adams, comp. 1989. Illinois Place Names. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois State Historical Society. 331.
^ "U.S. Census website". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
^ "Who We Are" page. Crab Orchard Public Library District website. http://www.craborchard.lib.il.us/about-us.
^ "WCFPD Station 3." Williamson County Fire Protection District website. "WCFPD Station 3". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ Coal Valley Water District