Eldorado | |
|---|---|
| City of Eldorado | |
 According to the 1945 Film Daily Yearbook, the 500-seat Grand was one of three movie houses in operation at that time, which also included the Orpheum and the Knox. Today the former Grand is used as a meeting place for a fraternal order. | |
| Nickname: City of Daffodils | |
 Location of Eldorado in Saline County, Illinois. | |
.svg) Location of Illinois in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 37°48′51″N 88°26′27″W / 37.81417°N 88.44083°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Saline |
| Founded by | Samuel Elder and Joseph Read |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Rocky James |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.54 sq mi (6.59 km2) |
| • Land | 2.50 sq mi (6.48 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2) |
| Elevation | 390 ft (120 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 3,743 |
| • Density | 1,495.41/sq mi (577.32/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 62930 |
| Area code | 618 |
| FIPS code | 17-23009 |
| GNIS ID | 2394639 |
| Wikimedia Commons | Eldorado, Illinois |
Eldorado (/ˌɛldəˈreɪdoʊ, -də/) is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1980 peak of 5,198. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Eldereado" or "Elder-Reado" (depending on the source)—a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,[2][3] Judge Samuel Elder, his son William, grandson Francis Marion, and neighbor Joseph Read,[4] and his brother William.[5] According to legend, a signpainter for the railroad painted the name "Eldorado" on the train depot; as a result, the spelling and pronunciation (el-do-RAY-doh) was forever changed.[4]
Eldorado is included in the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area and is a bedroom community in the Harrisburg micropolitan statistical area.[6]
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 116.
- ^ History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin, and Williamson Counties. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company. 1887. pp. 220–222.
- ^ a b Gale, Neil (January 31, 2017). "The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™: Eldorado Illinois' Founding History". The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ "Homestead of Judge Samuel Elder - Illinois Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". waymarking.com. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007 (CBSA-EST2007-01)". 2007 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 27, 2008. Archived from the original (CSV) on July 9, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2008.