[5] The village was surveyed by Benjamin D Lewis and platted in November 1872 for William Housely as Morrillsville, named after H. L. Morrill, the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad superintendent who sealed a real estate deal with mill owner G. W.

The mills were first used for the making of lumber to construct bridges and ties for the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad, then later the businesses and homes in the town soon followed.

After an influx of settlers from the south, due to the Civil War, the tiny village amidst timber and farms grew quickly.

The business district was mainly on Oak Street from the First National Bank west to the Texaco Gas Station, and all of frame construction.

There was a grand entry staircase with marble floors, clawfoot tubs, built-in china cabinets, and fine mahogany wood throughout.

A large, elegant patio served to entertain guests in hosting social dances, and even a carport existed for the two vehicles that Tuller owned.

The mansion was built on the Carrier-Vennum estate, nicknamed "Inland Farm", by Arthur V. Tuller, inlaw of George Washington Carrier, the town's founder.

After the lumber boom died out, Coal mining had a great influence on Carrier Mills.

Over one hundred coal mines were privately and publicly operated around Carrier Mills between near the turn of the 20th century and the late 1990s.

The entire county has suffered dearly[tone] from the closing of the coal mines, making Carrier Mills a near ghost town.

During the 2012 Leap Day tornado outbreak an EF-4 tornado touched down just north of Carrier Mills at 4:51 a.m. on February 29, 2012, destroyed a church and damaged homes along Town Park Road and then traveled ENE toward Harrisburg, where it damaged and destroyed entire neighborhoods of the city.

It was built in the early 1820s and located near the old Sahara Coal Company preparation plant (now abandoned), just northwest of the village.

Around 1940, the Carrier Mills Public School building burned down after a disastrous fire starting during a Boy Scout meeting in the basement.

[11] A new building ordinance was set in July 2006 for future construction plans in the vacant downtown area.

"[12] In April 2007, Carrier Mills Village Board approved entering an agreement with Bob Vancil and Associates to set up a tax increment finance district in an effort to draw new homeowners and businesses.

If the Scarlet Lake annexation does not happen and the board learns the TIF will not be of benefit to the village, they will not owe the additional $10,000.

In June 2011, the two-story Field and Dime Store building collapsed in Carrier Mills due to disrepair, one of only four original downtown structures that remained in the village.

Free blacks founded the small early pioneer settlement of Lakeview, a mile south of Carrier Mills, shortly after the War of 1812.

[15] In 2022 a preliminary application for a federal historical designation district was submitted by Lakeview descendant Brendan Jennings.

Additionally, the project will amend the existing National Register nominations for the following sites including the Carrier Mills Archaeological District, to reflect the African American heritage of the Pond Settlement, also known as Lakeview.

[18] The area, some 143 acres (0.58 km2) located approximately two miles south of Carrier Mills was inhabited by prehistoric people in three different archaeological periods.

Until the start of the 20th century, the South Fork of the Saline River was a meandering stream with large areas of swamps and shallow cypress lakes nearby.

Excellent preservation conditions permitted the recovery of many tools and animal and plant remains that have provided significant new insights into the prehistory of southern Illinois.

Settlement activity increased dramatically during the late Middle Archaic Period, 4500 to 3000 BC, when the area was inhabited by larger groups with a more settled lifestyle.

The final prehistoric inhabitants were Mississippian Period Indians (900 to 1400) who lived in scattered farmsteads and cultivated corn and squash.

[19] Carrier Mills has been nicknamed "Catskin" due to both an abundance of stray cats in town, and a late-19th century story of the first local merchandise and liquor store owner, Wes Cole, who was tricked by local kids into thinking a skinned cat hide was a mink stole in trade for a jug of whiskey.

[22] The village is split into two distinct sections with Washington Street being the only main east–west oriented avenue connecting them.

In between the two sections is the elevated New York Central Railroad bed, now the Tunnel Hill State Trail, on a large swath of grass, and the now defunct streetcar bypass on Carline Street, splitting the village in a southwest to northeast angle.

Downtown is located in the southwest corner, the largest section of the village to the northwest, and East End to the southeast, US Route 45 borders the southern edge, giving Carrier Mills its distinctive 'L' shape.