Carmi (population 5,400) is located in southeastern Illinois in White County along the
Little Wabash River, serving as the county seat. Illinois Routes 1 and 14 run thru the community. Carmi was first settled
as early as 1809, then chartered in 1816. It is believed that the city's name comes from the Bible as Carmi was a nephew to
Joseph, and was mentioned several times in the Old Testament.
The founders of Carmi were Leonard White (whom the county was named after) and Lowry
Hay, and they were joint proprietors to the site that was named Carmi. Another famous resident of Carmi, Colonel
Everton Conger, was involved in the capture of John Wilkes Booth after the latter shot President
Abraham Lincoln.
The article appears to be a school research paper completed by Christine South and is titled
"Segregation in Carmi, Illinois". In her research, Christine writes the following information
about East Side High School:
"....there were several churches and one school for the (African Americans).
Both grade school and high school children attended East Side School, which later became known as Lincoln School. The one-room
school was built in 1874 and another room was added in 1904 for the high school students. Since the school was located near
the Little Wabash River, high water would rise every year causing the (students) to miss school.
The school had two teachers; one taught first through sixth grade, while the
other taught seventh through twelfth grade. Students were given a few books from other schools but never had the privilege
of having new ones. East Side students did not have a basketball team until 1934 or 1935. They practiced outside in the yard
and played scheduled games at the high school gym; although, they were not allowed to play against "white" teams. In 1938-1939,
East Side beat Evansville’s Lincoln basketball team which was considered to be very good. However, this was East Side’s
last year for basketball due to the declining number of students. In 1950 East Side School closed; therefore, (African
American) children were admitted into the regular school system."
