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History of the Arbor District p. 12  

C arbondale also struggled with the issues of integration during the 1960s.  While the Arbor District was becoming a mixture of old and new families, many students and citizens found the District off limits in 1960.  On 18 February 1960, Willie Brown, an African American senior at SIU, spoke to the Student Council about the housing problem.  “A Negro can’t buy, rent, or lease a house on the west side of town,” Brown reported.[1]

     Throughout the decade citizens of Carbondale worked to integrate the city. The Human Relations Commission formed in 1962. Churches and civic groups as well as individuals circulated petitions and held open public meetings asking the City Council to pass an open housing ordinance.  In 1966, after six years of organizing, the Carbondale City Council passed an open housing ordinance, guaranteeing housing for all persons regardless of race, creed, or country of origin. By the passage of the housing ordinance, the Arbor District was already on its way to becoming a fully integrated neighborhood. 

Carbondale also had a massive anti-war and "counter-culture" movement. Some houses in the Arbor District became communes. A strong music scene emerged, as well. In the 1980s, punk bands played in basements in the neighborhood. Most famous and enduring is Lost Cross House, on Elm Street across from the Catholic Church.

The history of the post-Civil Rights/anti-war/counter-culture era remains to be written. Many of the current residents have worked hard to retain and reclaim this historic neighborhood. Some of those efforts can be viewed on this web site.

[1] “Council Hears Race Discrimination Report,” The Daily Egyptian, 23 February 1960. 
Background

In 2005-06, History undergraduate Christina Bearden-White worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant for Jane Adams. Part of her work involved researching the history of the Arbor District. She wrote the account told here, along with the photographs. Jane Adams created the web pages from her work.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Brush bio | 1869 map | 1898 map | Photographs

Carbondale Historic Preservation Plan

Register of Historic Places, Recommendations

A Short History of Carbondale - City of Carbondale