CARLINVILLE

city, seat (1829) of Macoupin county, southwestern Illinois, U.S. The first white settlement on the site, in an area known as Black Hawk hunting ground (frequented by Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo Indians), was made in about 1815. The community was named for Gov. Thomas Carlin. A notable feature is the million-dollar county courthouse (1870), an imposing domed limestone structure, the construction of which was attended by fraud and scandal. Agriculture, including livestock raising, is important to the local economy. The chief crops are corn, soybeans, and apples. A large creamery is in the city. Industrial activities include coal mining and the manufacture of pipe, fittings, and cotton work gloves. Blackburn College, which in 1912, under the leadership of William M. Hudson, became internationally known for its self-help plan and student management, was established in 1837. The first Civil War regiment in Illinois was organized at Carlinville, and four U.S. Civil War generalsJohn M. Palmer, John Logan, Richard Rowett, and John I. Rinakerlived there. The first three are buried in the city's cemetery. A plaque on the Methodist Church lawn commemorates a speech Abraham Lincoln made there in 1858 in the campaign against Stephen A. Douglas for the U.S. Senate. Inc. 1829. Pop. (1990) 5,416.