History · Centralia

A history of Centralia,
since 1853

Postcards, papers and photographs of Centralia from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

1853established

5old images & papers

1recent photos

From Centralia’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below

1853Established

1867Centralia, Marion Co., Illinois 1867Commons

1890Children at Central SchoolLOC

1910s3 items · First- and second-grade clases at the…Commons

1920–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.

Help out

Finish Centralia’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewCentralia, Marion Co., Illinois 1…, 1867: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from CentraliaWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Centralia.Meet them →

By decade

Centralia, decade by decade

1860s1 item

CommonsCentralia, Marion Co., Illinois 18671867

1890s1 item

LOCChildren at Central School1890

1910s3 items

First- and second-grade clases at the Lincoln School, Centralia, Illinois, 1916-1917 (scl-mss064-0467)

CommonsFirst- and second-grade clases at the Lincoln School, Centr…1916

Third- and fourth-grade clases at the Lincoln School, Centralia, Illinois, 1916-1917 (scl-mss064-0434~1)

CommonsThird- and fourth-grade clases at the Lincoln School, Centr…1916

Third- and fourth-grade clases at the Lincoln School, Centralia, Illinois, 1916-1917 (scl-mss064-0434~2)

CommonsThird- and fourth-grade clases at the Lincoln School, Centr…1916

1920s–
1990s

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

📷 Add from your album

Today1 photo

CommonsCentralia Public Library2004

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Centralia, Marion Co., Illinois 1867 (1867) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history

📜 Centralia 📜 Walnut Hill 📜 Central City 📜 Wamac

From Wikimedia Commons (5) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

A history of Centralia,since 1853