Illinois
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 | 1401 | 1401 | 0 | |||||
| 1940 | ||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 683 | |||||||
| 2000 | 625 | 616 | 1 | |||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
Main Ethnic Group(s)
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
“When I was a kid, they would bring in [black] railroad workers from Harrisburg to make railroad ties,” and they had to carry them back to Harrisburg each night.
There was an unwritten law, and it was, “Don’t let the sun set on your black ass,” perhaps a sign, at Norris City and Eldorado. (From a lifelong resident of Enfield and Norris City in 2003)
” I saw blacks drive thru Enfield but I never saw one stop in town. I heard many folks say that no “niggers” were ever going to spend the night in Enfield.” (From a longtime resident of Enfield, email, 4/2012)