We started off this trip at Crossville IL, it is a small village of around 750 people. It was plotted in 1872. The town’s existence is closely tied to the opening of the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad on December 9, 1872. The railroad project was stalled during the Civil War, but in 1867 the Cairo and Vincennes Railway Company were formed and work on the railroad proceeded in earnest. While not right on the Wabash River its life has been affected by the closing of the bridge in New Harmony Indiana.
With the railroad that has been abandoned and the Wabash bridge in New Harmony closed this small village was left between two towns that you would have to go through to get to any stores. This has helped the towns of Carmi and Grayville grow. Carmi up until this point has benefited the most and they have gained more stores.
As you can see Crossville does have a very nice small memorial park around there the railroad tracks would have gone through the village. As you head north on Highway 1 out of Crossville the old rail bed will be on your right. In our video you can see where we go under the old rail bridge just on the outside of town.
The next town up from Crossville is the town of Grayville. Grayville was founded in about 1810 by the head of the Gray family, James Gray.
This house was built in 1885 for William W. Gray, Sr., one of the founders of Grayville. They designed the house as in the Queen Anne style.
One of the reasons for this becoming a town is because of where it sat on the Wabash River. There is a big oxbow that would help protect people that were traveling up and down the river.
You can see the oxbow behind the sign marking the flood level of 1913. The sign here on the left is marking where the first hotel was located Called the Wabash House and built in 1830. I liked how the sign said it was a primitive place serving travelers who where a “Rough and Ready” lot looking for an adventure. There was a lot of game that could be hunted in this area, and it served well for farming also.
Around 1872 Grayville became part of the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad. The train depot is still here that you can visit. It was closed the day that we were here and was not able to go inside. Later another rail line come across the Wabash River just south of Grayville from Griffen Indiana and part of the former Illinois Central (IC) route.
In 1939 the city became popular for its oil in the Wabash basin. Many people came to drill for oil. In the 1950s the population began to drop.
Unlike other Illinois oil towns, Grayville still tends to thrive. I think in part because of the Interstate 64 that is just south of Grayville. Then highway 1 goes through the town. And just north of the town there is highway 130 that comes into town.
We kept heading north on highway 1 to the last place that we wanted to visit. We had to go through a small community call Keensburg that was founded in the mid-1870s and named for the Keen family. It was also one more stop on the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad. There is not much left of this town, and we did a quick drive through. on our way to Beall Woods State Park.
Portions of Beall Woods State Park have been designated a National Natural Landmark as the Forest of the Wabash. The state park was created in 1966, after the death of the last of the Beall family who had maintained the forest in an untouched state since the early 19th century. The park has camping area that you can camp in and also around 6 miles of trails that are mainly in the Forest of the Wabash. Some of the trees in these woods are all old growth and over 120 feet tall and some are over 40 inches in diameter.
If you have not seen our video of this trip, you can view it on our YouTube channel or watch it down below. We would like to hear from you if you have been to these towns or parks and let us know what you think about them. Give us a comment down below.
