Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Independent City or Town
- Metro Area
- Politics c. 1860?
- Unions, Organized Labor?
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Surely
- Was there an ordinance?
- Don't Know
- Sign?
- Yes, Strong Oral Tradition
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | ||||||||
| 1870 | ||||||||
| 1880 | ||||||||
| 1890 | ||||||||
| 1900 | ||||||||
| 1910 | ||||||||
| 1920 | ||||||||
| 1930 | ||||||||
| 1940 | ||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 4536 | |||||||
| 2000 | 4534 | 4455 | 16 | |||||
| 2010 | 4122 | 33 | 1 | |||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Threat of Violence
- Violence Towards Newcomers
- Other
Main Ethnic Group(s)
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
“In Saline County three Negro homes were dynamited.” (Reference: Daily Register (Harrisburg), April 5, 1923, p.1.)
“Another attack was made last night on the home of the Rev. Peter Green, pastor of the African Methodist Church at Eldorado. The crowd told Mr. Green to leave town in 24 hours, under penalty of death. He defied the mob and stood at his gate with a shotgun, threatening to shoot the first man who molested him.” (“Race War in IL,” NY Times, 6/17/1902.)
In 1992, police told my black guests they’d best leave town. We were having a party indoors, no noise issue; neighbors had phoned the police. (Local resident)
Many residents, both former and current, have claimed there was a sundown sign but they debate on when it was up. Most likey it was gone sometime in the 1960s.