City of Mt. Carmel
Address: 631 N Market Street Mt. Carmel, IL
Phone: 618-262-4822
Mount Carmel
The founders of Mt. Carmel, Thomas S. Hinde and William McDowell came in 1817 and planned for a town built on moral principles. They drafted Articles of Association which were recorded on September 21, 1818. They provided for a seminary and a bank to be built. The town was platted in 1818 after the land was purchased. The town was incorporated as a village on January 20, 1825 and incorporated as a city February 15, 1865. The first justices of the peace were Scoby Stewart, Beauchamp Harvey and Joseph Jones. The first businesses were all located on Market Street between First and Second streets. Floods in 1875 and 1876 caused tremendous loss and businesses likely moved further up the hill after than time. On June 4, 1877 a cyclone wiped out most of the business district and many homes. Fourteen people were killed, seventy-five people were wounded and five hundred people lost their homes. The county court house was destroyed at that time and was not replaced until aid from the state of Illinois came to help rebuild.
