Paineville is located in section 21 of Herrin Township. This is three quarters of a mile east of Herrin on the Herrin to Johnston City Road. It never became more than a rural residential area. A carnival went bankrupt in Herrin about 1920. It was set up in a field where Smoler Dress Factory now stands. The property could not be moved out of the county. The rides were easily disposed of. The owner of the carnival secured property in Paineville and took his animals there. For some time the hamlet was an exciting place. Boys and girls would go out there to see wild beasts including a 28 foot long boa constrictor.

Today there are ten houses and two mobile homes there. Its population is about 35.

(Ghost Towns of Southern Illinois, by Glenn J. Sneed, published 1977)