Harrisburg is the county seat for Saline County and has a population of 7,913.  It is located 22 miles east of Marion (IL), 57 miles southwest of Evansville (IN) and 111 miles southeast of St. Louis (MO).  Harrisburg positions itself as “Center of Southeastern Illinois” and the “Gateway to the Shawnee National Forest”, which includes the popular scenic area known as “Garden of the Gods.”

Banterra established branches in Harrisburg in 2002, one being located at 520 E. Poplar Street and the second branch located at 395 S. Commercial Street.   You can find restaurants such as Mackie’s Pizza and Morello’s near Banterra’s Poplar Street location and Wendy’s, Peking Palace and El Ranchito near Banterra’s Commercial Street location.

Harrisburg was named for James Alexander Harris, who had built a farmhouse and planted a corn field around 1820 in the area where the current city square is located.  Harris, along with John Pankey, James Yandell and John Cain, donated the land for the first additions of the town. Harrisburg was plotted as a village in 1853, became county seat in 1861, and in 1889, incorporated as a city.  Like other Southern Illinois towns, coal mining was a driving force with the town’s growth.  In 1854, the first slope coal mine began operations.  The industry and the town needed a railroad to haul coal to different markets.  In 1872, the Cairo & Vincennes Railroad (later New York Central) was completed. The following year, the first shaft mine was created.  This followed with several other coal mines and by 1906, the county was producing more than 500,000 tons of coal, employing more than 1,000 miners.

In the first half of the 20^th century, Harrisburg was one of the state’s fastest-growing cities with 16,000 residents in 1930 and the 20^th-most populated Illinois city outside of Chicago.  Ringling Brothers Circus performed in the town in 1915 and it was often a presidential campaign trail stop, with notables such as Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy stopping there.  Eleanor Roosevelt delivered a speech to a packed gymnasium at the high school in 1936.  A year later, the Ohio River Flood of 1937 which devastated so much of the region left 4,000 Harrisburg residents homeless and 80% of the city inundated, including flooding mines that led several to being condemned.

Today, coal mining has declined and railroad track has been replaced with a nice bike path, but you will find the Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport just four miles north of Harrisburg on Hwy. 34.  There are several shopping options and restaurants in town, as well as the SIH Harrisburg Medical Center Clinic.  Southeastern Illinois College is located between Harrisburg and Equality.  It was founded in 1960 and currently has approximately 5,000 students and nearly 150 employees.

Harrisburg Unit 3 Schools is home to the Bulldogs and includes BELA Pre-K, West Side School, East Side Intermediate, Harrisburg Middle School, and Harrisburg High School.  Banterra supports schools as well as well as youth sports and community events such as the Shawnee Sasquatch Festival.

Thank You for Choosing Banterra Bank in Harrisburg, Illinois 

Banterra Bank knows you have your choice of Harrisburg banks. Through attentive customer service and products that help you manage your finances well, we work hard to earn your business. Thank you for choosing Banterra Bank and the Harrisburg - Poplar St. branch.