Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the largest in three counties, Clinton, Marion, and Washington, but it is not a county seat for any of them. The population was 12,182 as of the 2020 census, down from 13,032 in 2010.
Centralia is named for the Illinois Central Railroad, built in 1853. The city was founded where the two original branches of the railroad converged. Centralia was first chartered as a city in 1859. Now Canadian National owns the line.
The intersection of the Third Principal Meridian and its baseline is in the southern city limits. This initial point was established in 1815, and it governs land surveys for about 60% of the state of Illinois, including Chicago. The original monument is at the junction of Highway 51 and the Marion-Jefferson County Line Road; today there is a small easement situated in the northeast corner of this intersection, which contains a monument and historical marker. Many Germans settled on the north side of town and Italians on the south side of town.
Production of the PayDay candy bar began here in 1938. Michael Moore's documentary, The Big One (1998), opens with the closing of this candy bar plant in the late 20th century. It addresses similar economic woes in other cities.
The town of Centerville, Washington, was renamed Centralia, Washington to avoid being confused with another Centerville in that state. A former resident of the Illinois town suggested the change.
Centralia's city flag was designed in 1924 by Wendell Bauer, whose design was awarded first prize in a community-wide design competition. A broad red stripe through the center of the flag represents the railroads to which the city owes its existence. A gold star above and below the stripe signifies the area's mining and agricultural industries. Lastly, a triangle pyramid with a sphinx head design is symbolic of Egypt, a tribute to Southern Illinois’ nickname, “Little Egypt”.
The Centralia mine disaster occurred in 1947 when the nearby Centralia No. 5 coal mine exploded, killing 111 people. The disaster was memorialized in folk singer Woody Guthrie's song "The Dying Miner".
Centralia is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) east of St. Louis, Missouri. Most of the city, including its downtown, is in southwestern Marion County, but the city extends west into Clinton County and south 5 miles (8 km) into Washington and Jefferson counties. The city is 10 miles (16 km) north of exit 61 of Interstate 64 and 9 miles (14 km) west of exit 109 of Interstate 57. Centralia is one of three Illinois cities with portions in four counties, the others being Barrington Hills and Aurora. Because of its unique location within multiple counties, portions of Centralia are associated with different Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs). The Centralia Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Marion County. The Clinton County portion of the city is considered part of the St. Louis, MO–IL Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Jefferson County portion lies within the Mt. Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area. The portion of Centralia in Washington County is not considered part of any metropolitan or micropolitan area.
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Centralia has a total area of 9.23 square miles (23.91 km2), of which 8.20 square miles (21.24 km2) (or 88.81%) is land and 1.03 square miles (2.67 km2) (or 11.19%) is water.
As of the 2020 census, Centralia had a population of 12,182. The median age was 41.1 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.8 males age 18 and over.
98.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 5,280 households and 2,776 families in Centralia, of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.0% were married-couple households, 21.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 5,900 housing units, of which 10.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.2%.
The Centralia Cultural Society is a community arts center. The center hosts the Centralia Philharmonic Orchestra (an amateur orchestra), the Little Theatre Players, the Choral Society, Bronze Expressions Handbell Ensemble; and periodically hosts galleries by the Light and Lens photography club, and Palette and Brush club, and student art shows. The Little Theatre Players was established in 1961, and performs plays and musicals.
Foundation Park is the site of the annual Balloon Fest. Recent events have had about forty balloons and drew 40,000 visitors. The Annual Centralia Balloon Festival was the event in which the second "Space Shuttle" hot air balloon crashed and burned due to a fuel line defect.
Foundation Park also hosts the Fantasy of Lights drive-through holiday light display during November and December.
In addition to Foundation Park, the Centralia Foundation supports the Centralia Carillon. Completed in 1983, with 65 bells, the carillon is ranked as the eighth-largest in the world. The largest bell, Great Tom, weighs 5+1⁄2 tons. Currently, the tower is under renovation and looking for a carillonneur.
One of only two remaining 2500-class steam locomotives from the Illinois Central Railroad is preserved on static display at Centralia's Fairview Park. The Age of Steam Memorial non-profit organization maintains the locomotive. A 9415 caboose and a rare Republic F-105 Thunderchief aircraft are also on display in the park.