of the downtown in the 1990s. There were two banks, two grocery stores, and several specialty shops, until the businesses began to disappear due to job loss, a population decrease, and the move to businesses on the highways. The former city hall building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Eldorado thrived for much of the late 1800s until the 1980s as a coal mining town, until several major mines shut down. Another major employer, Roundy's (formerly Scot Lad) closed in 2005, laying off 170 workers. Today, the railroad tracks have been paved over in favor of bike paths, and most of the downtown businesses are gone. Eldorado was known as a sundown town until the 1960s. Geography and Location Eldorado is located at (37.814212, -88.440937) in Saline County. It is in the Southeastern region of Southern Illinois. The nearest major city is St. Louis, Missouri (129 miles). Residents do a lot of business in Evansville, Indiana (59 miles), and Paducah, Kentucky (62 miles). According to the 2010 census, Eldorado has a total area of , of which (or 98.31%) is land and (or 1.69%) is water. It is located within the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone, and just north of the Cottage Grove Fault System. The junction of the pioneer Kaskaskia and Goshen Trails was located just south of the city. The Goshen Trail began in Old Shawneetown, Illinois and ran along the east side of Eldorado and on to the Goshen Settlement, a community near the present day East St. Louis. It is just north of the Shawnee National Forest. Climate Average high temps are 67.5 °F, average lows 45.3 °F. Average temp 56.4 °F. Average annual precipitation-rainfall 47.46 inches. Average annual snowfall is 5 inches. Government The current mayor is Rocky James (as of 2019). There is also an elected city council, city clerk, and city treasurer. Their offices are at city hall, located at 901 4th street. Demographics As of the census of 2010 there were 4,122 people, 1,796 households, and 1,044 families residing in the city. There were 2,053 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 97.3% White, 0.8% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population. There were 1,945 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the