Carmi lies on the East bank of the Little Wabash River in Southern Illinois. It was the Little Wabash that attracted the first settlers to the area in the period of 1809-1814.

The oldest existing house in Carmi was built in 1814. The house, located near the city park, is sometimes open to visitors because of its colorful history. The house was used as a courthouse when White County was founded in 1815, and when Carmi was chartered in 1816. U.S. Senator James Robinson and his family lived in the home until the 1870's. The Senator's granddaughter Mary Jane Stewart occupied the home until 1966. She willed the home and its contents to the White County Historical Society which maintains it as a house museum.