Biohazard Cleanup Near Christopher Historic District Christopher, IL

Christopher is a city in Franklin County in deep Southern Illinois, a region locals call Little Egypt.

Christopher was founded in 1879 as a railroad stop - the first railroad engine arrived on November 16, 1879 - and was named for Christopher Harrison, a grandson of prominent early settler Isham Harrison.

A post office opened in 1880, residents voted to incorporate as a village in 1903, and Christopher became a city on January 11, 1910.

The 2020 census counted 2,697 people in Christopher, and the city has roughly 1,200 households.

Coal made Christopher boom: the United Coal Mining Company sank its No. 1 mine just north of town in 1906, striking an 11-foot-thick coal seam 517 feet underground.

An explosion at the No. 1 mine on July 27, 1915 killed eight men; the mine was sold to the Old Ben Coal Corporation in 1916, renamed Old Ben Coal Mine No. 1, and closed in 1929.

On November 29, 1917, another explosion, at Old Ben's Mine No. 11 near Christopher, killed 17 miners, one of several disasters that marked Franklin County's coal era.

At its coal-boom peak, Christopher's population exceeded 10,000 people - nearly four times its size today, according to the city's own history.

The City of Christopher proudly claims it is the one and only community named Christopher in the entire United States.

Christopher students are served by Christopher Unit School District 99.