Southern Illinois History Page

Culture and Characteristics
  • The Baptist Hour
    It's one of the longest running programs in radio history, certainly in Southern Illinois. It airs on WEBQ Radio.
  • DuQuoin State Fair
    The premier fair of Southern Illinois, the DuQuoin State Fair has operated for over three-quarters of a century.
  • Effigy Graves
    They're tombstones with a head, and quite a number are found in Pope County and a few other places. Carbondale archeaologist Michael McNerney has taken on the project of finding out why they exist. This is a news story of a presentation to the Saline County Historical Society in Harrisburg.
  • Folk Remedies
    John J. Dunphy takes a look at the Ozarkian folk remedy of "blood-stopping" in this tale.
  • Ghost Stories and the Paranormal
    Southern Illinois has more than its share of ghost stories, paranormal and supernatural events. This page links to some of the better stories out there on the web.
  • Local Authors
    Southern Illinois has a number of local authors. Check out this page for links to their sites. Remember, by ordering directly from the author you're encouraging more research and writing about this area.
  • Piasa Bird
    John J. Dunphy breaks down the legend of Alton's famed Piasa Bird to show the underlying myth of this so-called Indian legend. Nevertheless he still supports repainting the creature on the bluffs upriver from Alton as a testement to the original painting placed their by prehistoric Indians.
  • Pioneer Days in old Egypt
    Early Franklin County pioneer, the Rev. Braxton Parrish, recounted like in the earliest days of Franklin County. His descriptions are typical of the time period of the 1820s.
  • Slavery in Illinois
    You may think the Land of Lincoln didn't experience slavery, but it did. Here's Ethan A. Snively's 1901 article on the extent of slavery in Illinois.
  • Stoneforts and Rock Art
    There are a number of prehistoric native archaeological sites involving stone walls and detailed rock art. The two local leading researchers are husband and wife. This is a news story from a presentation they made on their hypotheses.
  • The Sucker State before the Land of Lincoln
    This except of Gov. Thomas Ford's, "A History of Illinois," gives two of the reasons why Illinoisans are known as "Suckers." The story takes place in the development of the lead mines around Galena in the northwest corner of Illinois and the Winnebago War of 1827.

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Updated November 10, 2003 by Jon Musgrave

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