Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

counties in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the largest in three of the counties; Clinton, Marion, and Washington, but is not a county seat of any of them. The population was 12,182 as of the 2020 census, down from 13,032 in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

History

Centralia is named for the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line al ...

, built in 1853. The city was founded at the location where the two original branches of the railroad converged. Centralia was first chartered as a city in 1859. Now Canadian National owns the line. In the southern city limits is the intersection of the Third Principal Meridian and its baseline. This initial point was established in 1815, and it governs land surveys for about 60% of the state of Illinois, including

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. 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 historic marker. Production of the PayDay candy bar began here in 1938.

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

'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 as Centralia, Washington to avoid being confused with another Centerville in that state. The suggestion came from a former resident of the Illinois town. 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 signify the area’s mining and agricultural industries, respectively. 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 was memorialized in folk singer

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspire ...

's song "The Dying Miner".

Geography

Centralia is located approximately 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 into Washington and Jefferson counties. The city is north of exit 61 of Interstate 64 and west of exit 109 of Interstate 57. Centralia is one of three Illinois cities with portions in four counties, the others being

Barrington Hills Barrington Hills is a village located about northwest of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 4,114. It straddles approximately over four counties, Cook, Kane, Lake, and McHenry. The Village of Bar ...

and

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

. Because of its unique location within multiple counties, portions of Centralia are associated with different

Core Based Statistical Area A core-based statistical area (CBSA) is a U.S. geographic area defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that consists of one or more counties (or equivalents) anchored by an urban center of at least 10,000 people plus adjacent countie ...

s (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 In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

, 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 , of which (or 88.81%) is land and (or 11.19%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 12,182 people, 5,458 households, and 2,776 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,900 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.92%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 11.01%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.24% Native American, 2.09% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.33% from other races, and 7.41% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 3.29% of the population. There were 5,458 households, out of which 44.89% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.36% were married couples living together, 12.59% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.14% were non-families. 40.67% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.59% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 2.20. The city's age distribution consisted of 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,117, and the median income for a family was $60,754. Males had a median income of $38,632 versus $25,986 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $25,141. About 15.7% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 36.9% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Centralia Cultural Society

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.

Local features

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 the months of November and December. In addition to Foundation Park, the Centralia Foundation also supports the Centralia Carillon. Completed in 1983, with 65

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

s, the

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...

is ranked as the eighth-largest in the world. The largest bell, Great Tom, weighs tons. The current carillonneur is Roy Kroezen. 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 locomotive is maintained by the Age of Steam Memorial non-profit organization. A 9415 caboose and a rare

Republic F-105 Thunderchief The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...

aircraft are also on display in the park.

Historic downtown

Centralia's downtown features historic architecture, and has seen recent development with the addition of a Splash Pad near the Centralia Carillon.

Commercial Historic District

In 2012, the downtown area of Centralia was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Notable historic buildings include the former Langenfield Hotel, Centralia House restaurant, Old National Bank buildings, Sadler Opera House, Centralia Sentinel Building, and the Illinois Theater. The Langenfield Hotel was "established in 1912 by John Langenfield" and "became the premier hotel in the area." Images of the Langenfield Hotel have been used for postcards featuring Centralia. The name Langenfield was also connected to the historic Langenfield Motor Company buildings. The Centralia Sentinel Building houses the Centralia Morning Sentinel newspaper and features Egyptian Revival style architecture. This may be connected to Southern Illinois' nickname of "Egypt," or "Little Egypt." The Illinois Theater in downtown Centralia used to be a vaudeville and movie theater and is currently undergoing renovations that will enable it to seat 500 and hold professional entertainment performances.

The Centralia Area Historical Museum

The Centralia Area Historical Museum is free to the public and contains three stories of photographs and artifacts from Centralia's extensive history as a major railway hub and mining town. The museum accepts items either as donations or through loans. In addition to the displays, the museum also contains the George Ross Library which holds city history books, newspapers and periodicals, as well as family histories and genealogies.

Parks and recreation

Centralia's Foundation Park is a scenic park that features hiking trails, an exercise trail, an ice skating pond and two fishing ponds stocked with bass, bluegill, and catfish. The park also sports a restored prairie, a 36-hole disc-golf course, a Chapel in the Woods, the Hall Shelter, the Sentinel Shelter, The Bowl (an outdoor amphitheater), Moose Oven, and the Miner's Memorial. Fairview Park includes baseball and softball fields, tennis and sand volleyball courts, a skate park, a swimming pool complex, playgrounds, and picnic shelters. The Centralia Recreational Complex is a 60,000 square foot recreational facility equipped with walking track, indoor basketball courts, competition and leisure swimming pools, weight rooms, and exercise classrooms. The Centralia Community Youth Center provides after-school tutoring services, sports clubs including wrestling, chess, dance, Double Dutch jump roping, basketball, and karate. Their mission is “to help our community's youth from falling into the traps of today's society: crime, drugs, and gang activity. We do this through positive reinforcement and programs in the most grassroots style of community activism.” They also hosts concerts, camps, and community dinners. Two lakes near Centralia offer water sport and fishing recreation. Raccoon Lake is a 970-acre man-made lake. It was built in 1942 and is a water

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

. Boating and fishing are permitted on Raccoon Lake, with the appropriate licenses and permits. The lake hosts the annual Outboard Power Boat Races (as sponsored by the National Boat Racing Association and Outboard Drivers Association). Lake Centralia is a 412-acre man-made lake, constructed in 1910, and is both a water reservoir and location for water sport activities such as boating and fishing. It has an average depth of 10 feet. It is located slightly northeast of Centralia.

Largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds an ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis' ...

, and

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

populate the lake. Fishing licenses and boating permits are required. Fishermen are limited to two pole and line fishing. Largemouth bass fishing tournaments are held on Centralia Lake, with 28 tournaments being held in 2018.

Education

Public elementary schools in Centralia include Jordan Elementary (PK-1st grade) Schiller Elementary (2nd-3rd grade), and Centralia Junior High School (4th-8th grade). According to the 2018-2019 Illinois Report Card for school districts, Jordan Elementary scored as a Lowest Performing school, Schiller Elementary as a Commendable school, and Centralia Jr. High as an Underperforming school. Private elementary schools in Centralia include Trinity Lutheran School (K-8), affiliated with Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Mary School (Preschool and K-8), affiliated with St. Mary Catholic Church, and New Horizon Christian School (Preschool and K-8), affiliated with Greenview Christian Church. Centralia's public high school is Centralia High School. Its sports teams are called the Orphans and Annies. The Centralia boys basketball team won its 2,000th game during the 2007–08 season, becoming the first high school basketball team in the nation to achieve that milestone. The Centralia Orphans were the State Runner-Up in the 2011 Class 3A. The Orphans got their unique nickname during the early 1900s when the boys' basketball team made it to the state tournament. The school was low on funds at the time, and the team was forced to pick its uniforms from a pile of non-matching red uniforms. At the state tournament, an announcer commented that the team looked like a bunch of orphans on the court because of their mismatched uniforms. The name stuck. Previously, the team had gone by nicknames such as the Reds and Cardinals. In 2013 and 2014, the Centralia Orphans were recently named the Most Unique Mascot in the nation by ''USA Today''. The private Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School first opened its doors in August 2004 with nine students. As of 2013, the student body has grown to over 100 students. Christ Our Rock is the home of the Silver Stallions. Post-secondary education is available at

Kaskaskia College Kaskaskia College is a public community college in Centralia, Illinois. Kaskaskia College's Community College District 501 serves all or part of nine counties, including Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Marion, Washington, Jefferson, St. Clair, Madison ...

, a community college serving the Centralia region. Kaskaskia College has extension centers in the surrounding towns of Vandalia, Salem, Greenville, Trenton, and

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

. The Harry L.Crisp Technology Center in located on the east side of Centralia and houses occupational and technical programs. Kaskaskia College and its education centers also offer non-degree community education courses on subjects such as photography, gardening, and beekeeping. Kaskaskia College is also the site of the Jim Beasley Veteran's Tribute, honoring veterans connected to the Kaskaskia College District 501. The Airgo International Flight School is a Professional Flight Training school located at the Centralia Municipal Airport.

Infrastructure

Transportation

IL 161 runs east and west directly through Centralia and US Highway 51 runs north and south through the city. South Central Transit is the public transportation system for Centralia and surrounding areas. The City of Centralia owns and operates the Centralia Municipal Airport, a general aviation facility that can accommodate corporate and private aircraft. The runway is 5001 feet long. Airgo, Inc. is the

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...

at the Centralia Municipal Airport.

Rail transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Centralia. Amtrak Train 59, the southbound ''City of New Orleans'', departs Centralia at 12:25 am daily with service to Carbondale, Fulton, Newbern-

Dyersburg Dyersburg is a city and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in northwest Tennessee, northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 16,164 at the 2020 census, down 5.72% from the 2010 census ...

, Memphis, Greenwood,

Yazoo City Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's ...

, Jackson, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Amtrak Train 58, the northbound ''City of New Orleans'', departs Centralia at 4:10 am daily with service to Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Homewood and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Centralia is also served by Amtrak Train 390/391, the ''Saluki'', daily in the morning, and Amtrak Train 392/393, the ''Illini'', daily in the afternoon/evening. Both the ''Saluki'' and the ''Illini'' operate between Chicago and Carbondale.

Correctional center

The

Centralia Correctional Center The Centralia Correctional Center is a medium-security state prison for men located in Centralia, Clinton County, Illinois, owned and operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is the code de ...

is a medium security prison for adult males opened in 1980. With an operating capacity of 1,572, its population in 2019 was 1,281.

Notable people

Chad Beguelin Chad Beguelin (born September 24, 1969) is an American playwright and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book for '' The Prom''. He also wrote the book for Disney's ''Aladdin'', as well as additional lyrics for the score. He was nom ...

, playwright and four-time Tony Award nominee * Warren Billhartz, state legislator, businessman, and lawyer * David Blackwell, statistician and first black member of

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

James Brady James Scott Brady (August 29, 1940 – August 4, 2014) was an American public official who served as assistant to the U.S. president and the seventeenth White House Press Secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. In 1981, Brady ...

, press secretary to President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Gilbert Bundy Gilbert Bundy (1911 – November 21, 1955) was an American cartoonist and illustrator, particularly for '' Esquire'', '' Life'', '' Judge'', and ''The Saturday Evening Post'' magazines. He killed himself on the 12th anniversary of a deeply trau ...

(1911–1955), cartoonist and illustrator, born Centralia * Roland Burris, Illinois Attorney General, comptroller, United States senator * Brian Dinkelman, second baseman with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Dike Eddleman Thomas Dwight "Dike" Eddleman (December 27, 1922 – August 1, 2001) was an American athlete who was generally considered the greatest athlete in the history of athletics at the University of Illinois. Eddleman participated on the university ...

, small forward with the Tri-Cities Blackhakws/Milwaukee Hawks and

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''face ...

* Bryan Eversgerd, pitcher with St. Louis Cardinals and coach *

Dwight Friedrich Dwight Paul Friedrich (July 3, 1913 – August 24, 1993) was an American politician and businessman. Biography Dwight Paul Friedrich was born in Marion County, Illinois on June 3, 1913. He was a graduate of Salem High School in Salem, Illinois ...

, state legislator and businessman *

Gary Gaetti Gary Joseph Gaetti (, ; born August 19, 1958), is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1990), California Angels (1991–1993), Kansas City Royals (1993–1995), St. Louis Cardinals (1996– ...

, third baseman with the 1987

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

champion

and five other MLB teams * Dick Garrett, guard with

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

and NBA's

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, Buffalo Braves,

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, and

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

* Adruitha Lee, Academy Award winning hairstylist for their work in the film '' Dallas Buyers Club'' * Mary Lee, actress *

Jean Madeira Jean Madeira, née Jean Browning (born November 14, 1918, in Centralia, Illinois; died on July 10, 1972, in Providence, Rhode Island) was an American contralto, particularly known for her work in late-romantic German repertoire such as the operas ...

, opera singer *

Bobby Joe Mason Bobby Joe Mason (April 23, 1936 – July 4, 2006) was an American basketball player. He was an All-American college player at Bradley University and gained worldwide fame as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. Career Mason was a three-sport ...

, basketball player, Bradley University and

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...

Harlem globetrotter all time roster. http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/harlem-globetrotters-all-time-roster . Access date 5 June 2014 * Ken "Preacher" McBride, Harlem Globetrotter * Florence McClure, Nevada activist * Ora A. Oldfield, Illinois state senator and businessman'Illinois Blue Book 1947-1948,' Biographical Sketch of Ora A. Oldfield, pg. 258-29 * Gene Paulette, infielder for four

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

teams; born in Centralia *

Smiley Quick Lyman Loren "Smiley" Quick (March 19, 1909 – December 23, 1979) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. Quick was born in Centralia, Illinois, but lived most of his life in southern California i ...

, golfer with the PGA Tour * Charles W. Root, Minnesota state legislator and lawyer * Kirk Rueter, pitcher for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

* Nancy Scranton, golfer with the

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of wee ...

Tour * June C. Smith, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court * Tom Wargo, golfer with the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

* Dottie Wham, Colorado state legislator * Robert Wham, lawyer and Colorado state legislator

References

49. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=006500050HArt%2E+6&ActID=802&ChapterID=14&SeqStart=60100000&SeqEnd=64500000

External links

City of Centralia official website
{{authority control Cities in Clinton County, Illinois Cities in Jefferson County, Illinois Cities in Washington County, Illinois Cities in Marion County, Illinois Cities in Illinois Populated places established in 1853