The city is located 96 miles (154 km) southeast of St. Louis on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest.

In August 1853, Daniel Harmon Brush, John Asgill Conner, and Dr. William Richart bought a 360-acre (1.5 km2) parcel of land between two proposed railroad station sites (Makanda and De Soto) and two county seats (Murphysboro and Marion).

[citation needed] The first train through Carbondale arrived on Independence Day 1854, traveling north on the main line from Cairo, Illinois.

This part of Illinois was known as "Little Egypt" because of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, where the town of Cairo is located.

Carbondale also won the bid for the new state teacher training school for the region, and Southern Illinois Normal University opened in 1874.

This institution, now recognized as a national research university, has nearly 18,000 students enrolled (as of 2014) and offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate specialties.

On April 29, 1866, one of the first formal Memorial Day observations following the Civil War was held at the city's Woodlawn Cemetery.

[17] Carbondale lies in the northern limits of a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with four distinct seasons.

Traditional measures of income and poverty can be misleading when applied to cities with high student populations, such as Carbondale.

[25][26] In addition to Southern Illinois University, which presents regular concerts and theatrical productions, as well as art and history exhibits, the city has a variety of unique cultural institutions.

[27] Carbondale is also home to Lost Cross, the longest running DIY punk venue in the country, which has hosted local and national acts.

There are several lodges and clubs, such as the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Elks, Rotary International, and the A.F.A.M (Freemasonry).

[citation needed] The Women's Center, in continuous service since its founding in 1972, was one of the first domestic violence shelters in the United States.

[citation needed] Spirituality finds expression in Carbondale in churches of a variety of Christian denominations, a Unitarian Universalist fellowship, two mosques, a Jewish congregation, a Sufi community, and two Buddhist organizations – the Shawnee Dharma Group and the Sunyata Center.

It is also an education center to help the community become more ecologically conscious, understand how to incorporate better practices into daily life, and set goals for the future.

Notable poets that reside in or near Carbondale include Rodney Jones, Judy Jordan, Allison Joseph, and the Transpoetic Playground collective.

[32][33][34] Southern Illinois University's Recreation Center is open to the public; it provides swimming, bowling, rock climbing walls, tennis, basketball, an indoor track, racquetball, weight training, and a variety of exercise equipment.

These include the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, the Shawnee National Forest, Giant City State Park, Little Grand Canyon, Piney Creek Ravine, Pomona Natural Bridge, the Garden of the Gods Wilderness area, and Trail of Tears State Park.

Five minutes south of Carbondale is the city reservoir, Cedar Lake, which is open to kayaking and canoeing.

The presence of Southern Illinois University also means that Carbondale area residents can attend Division I events of SIU's "Salukis" sport teams.

Due to the presence of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale residents have a tradition of political activism.

During the Vietnam War, and especially after the Kent State shootings, massive anti-war demonstrations took place on the SIU campus and on the streets of Carbondale.

They resulted in the closure of SIU, more than $100,000 of property damage, more than 400 arrests,[35] and the deployment of the National Guard to restore order.

Several local organizations are concerned with peace, justice and the environment, including the Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois/Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Shawnee Green Party, the Student Environmental Center, the Southern Illinois Center for a Sustainable Future, and local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Sierra Club, and the National Audubon Society.

[39] On April 5, 2011, Joel Fritzler was elected mayor for a four-year term,[40] but on February 3, 2014, he resigned to accept a job in Arizona.

The City Council chose Don Monty as acting mayor to finish Fritzler's term.

Carbondale also is home to WDBX Community Radio for Southern Illinois, and the Big Muddy Independent Media Center.

Amtrak Train 58, the northbound City of New Orleans, departs Carbondale daily with service to Centralia, Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Homewood, and Chicago.

[45] Amtrak uses the tracks of the Canadian National Railway, which provides freight service to the city's industrial park.

The city is twelve miles (19 km) away from the Williamson County Regional Airport, where Contour Airlines provides passenger service to Chicago O’Hare.