We decided one cold weekend to travel some backroads in southern Illinois and visit some old towns that I like to look at. We decided to start the trip off in Old Shawneetown and work our way up the Wabash River.
Old Shawneetown was moved not long after the 1937 flood a few miles in land. There are still some of those old historic buildings left there and some of the houses. But many have been removed now. One of the first banks is still standing and is closed off to the public. Just looking at it from the outside is very impressive to see.
My daughter was one of the few that have been able to go inside and take photos of the building. All of the inside photos that we will post are from her and if you would like to get one or even see the ones that she has taken on the outside you can visit her website and contact her about them. MJ Art and Photography
The Bank was constructed 1839-1841 to house the offices of the Bank of Illinois at Shawnee town. The Bank of Illinois suspended operations in 1843, but the building housed numerous financial institutions from 1854 to the 1930s. Shawneetown was an important commercial center as a major outlet for the state’s salt industry and as the location of a federal land office
This pictures just cannot do the building justice for how big that it is on the side.
I have always loved looking at how the craftsmen did their work, fitting joints and using wooden pegs to hold the joints in place. Most of the time these joints are made when the wood has just been made. and with the wooden pegs they will just get tighter as the wood dries out.
Some more early history about Old Shawneetown is that “Luis & Clark” landed close to this area looking to get salt supplies from this area. In November 1803 when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed here, Shawneetown was the only chartered town, by the Federal Government, in the area and was a vital outpost at the time.
The Kaskaskia–Shawneetown and Goshen Trail, funded by Congress in 1816, was a vital pioneer route connecting the early Illinois capital at Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River to the Ohio River port of Shawneetown. This historic trail facilitated westward expansion, passing through Southern Illinois, with the Goshen Trail joining it near the Salines (Equality) to connect towards Edwardsville.
In the background you can see the old Texico Station. It is just across the corner from the old bank and at the end of the downtown street.
While shawneetown was relocated to New Shawneetown a few miles inland this is still a nice place to visit. There is a campground that is just outside of the historic part of Old Shawneetown that you can walk the town, or it is a short drive to many places that are found to visit as part of the Shawnee National Forest.
We headed on to the next town that we were going to visit and decided to stop and look at an old church that we had passed by many times in our lives but had never stopped and checked it out.
Come to find out that the first church was a log building and built in 1875. Later in 1912 this building that we see here now was built.
Then in 1978 the grounds and cemetery were donated to Asbury Cemetery Association.
We were driving just ahead of a cold front. It was getting much colder and the wind was blowing so we did not spend much time looking around. We jumped back in the jeep and kept heading down the road to the village of Maunie. This village is located on the Wabash River. It received the first post office in 1893 and was incorporated in 1901. There is a railroad that ran next to the town, and it is close to a big underground mine. Both have slowed down in business and where the village is located, I am sure has helped cause the village to slowly die out.
There is still a post office there. This village has another old gas station still standing it is a little more run down now.
I do not know what the story is as to why but at some time they needed to have a jail. This small two cell jail was built to cover their needs. It was built in 1901 at a total cost of 59 dollars. Which was at the same time that the village was incorporated.
This is something that Cheryl and I enjoy doing, taking a drive on backroads and older two-lane highways to see what is out there from the past. If you take the time, you can find cool old things like these. If you have been to any of these forgotten towns or know of some neat ones for us to see leave a comment below.
We also have made a video on our YouTube channel that you can watch below.
