Old Shawneetown, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Old Shawneetown is a village
in Gallatin County
, Illinois
, United States
. As of the 2000 census
, the village had a total population
of 193. Located along the Ohio River
, Shawneetown served as an important United States government administrative center for the Northwest Territory
. The village was devastated by the Ohio River flood of 1937
. The village's population was moved several miles inland to New Shawneetown
.
. Shawneetown and Washington, D.C.
, share the distinction of being the only towns chartered by the United States government. In early November 1803, Lewis and Clark are believed to have stopped at Old Shawneetown on their way to Fort Massac
, just down the Ohio River
.
Old Shawneetown is the site of the first bank
chartered in Illinois in 1812. Originally in a log cabin it was replaced in 1822 with a brick structure (only the second one in the town) now known as the John Marshall House.
Local legend states that the Shawneetown Bank refused to buy the first bonds issued by the city of Chicago
on the grounds that no city located that far from a navigable river could survive.
Another historic bank building, the Bank of Illinois, was constructed in 1839-41 to house the offices of the Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown. It later housed numerous other financial institutions before it was closed in the 1930s. This fine example of Greek Revival architecture survives as the Shawneetown Bank State Historic Site
.
Residents long remembered the visit by Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
of France to the city on May 8, 1825, as a highpoint for the early community's social history.
Home of the largest Monster Truck Boat in US History.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the village has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all land.
of 2000, there were 278 people, 100 households, and 69 families residing in the village. The population density
was 531.7 people per square mile (206.4/km²). There were 146 housing units at an average density of 279.2/sq mi (108.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.64% White and 0.36% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population.
There were 100 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples
living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the village the population was spread out with 33.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $18,214, and the median income for a family was $20,625. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $13,750 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $9,379. About 33.3% of families and 39.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 60.6% of those under the age of eighteen and 33.3% of those sixty five or over.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Gallatin County
Gallatin County, Illinois
Gallatin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 5,589, which is a decrease of 13.3% from 6,445 in 2000...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the village had a total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 193. Located along the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, Shawneetown served as an important United States government administrative center for the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
. The village was devastated by the Ohio River flood of 1937
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
. The village's population was moved several miles inland to New Shawneetown
Shawneetown, Illinois
Shawneetown is a city in Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,410 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gallatin County...
.
History
After the Revolution, Shawneetown served as an important United States government administrative center for the Northwest TerritoryNorthwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
. Shawneetown and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, share the distinction of being the only towns chartered by the United States government. In early November 1803, Lewis and Clark are believed to have stopped at Old Shawneetown on their way to Fort Massac
Fort Massac
Fort Massac is a colonial and early National-era fort on the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, United States.Legend has it that, as early as 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his soldiers constructed a primitive fortification here to defend themselves from native attack...
, just down the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
.
Old Shawneetown is the site of the first bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
chartered in Illinois in 1812. Originally in a log cabin it was replaced in 1822 with a brick structure (only the second one in the town) now known as the John Marshall House.
Local legend states that the Shawneetown Bank refused to buy the first bonds issued by the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on the grounds that no city located that far from a navigable river could survive.
Another historic bank building, the Bank of Illinois, was constructed in 1839-41 to house the offices of the Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown. It later housed numerous other financial institutions before it was closed in the 1930s. This fine example of Greek Revival architecture survives as the Shawneetown Bank State Historic Site
Shawneetown Bank State Historic Site
The Shawneetown Bank State Historic Site is a historic bank building located in the U.S. state of Illinois. A Greek Revival structure built in 1839-1841 in Old Shawneetown, Illinois, the former Bank of Illinois is currently owned by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.-Pre-Civil War...
.
Residents long remembered the visit by Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
of France to the city on May 8, 1825, as a highpoint for the early community's social history.
Home of the largest Monster Truck Boat in US History.
Famous residents
- Robert G. IngersollRobert G. IngersollRobert Green "Bob" Ingersoll was a Civil War veteran, American political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic."-Life and career:Robert Ingersoll was born in Dresden, New York...
, a famous 19th century orator and agnostic, lived in Shawneetown from 1855 to 1857, where he served as deputy clerk in the county and circuit clerk's office and practiced law.
- Civil War general John Alexander McClernandJohn Alexander McClernandJohn Alexander McClernand was an American lawyer and politician, and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was a classic case of the politician-in-uniform coming into conflict with career Army officers, graduates of the United States Military Academy. He was a prominent Democratic...
grew up in Shawneetown. He started a newspaper, the Shawneetown Democrat, in 1835. He served in the Illinois General AssemblyIllinois General AssemblyThe Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Illinois has 59 legislative districts, with two...
between 1836 and 1843 before moving to Jacksonville where he was later elected to the United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, serving four terms between 1843 and 1850. He moved to Jacksonville, Illinois the following year.
- Former Revolutionary War officer Thomas PoseyThomas PoseyThomas Posey was an officer in the American Revolution, a general during peacetime, the third Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, Governor of the Indiana Territory, and a Louisiana Senator.-Family and background:...
died visiting his daughter who lived just outside Shawneetown in 1818 and is buried in the historic Westwood Cemetery that grew up around his grave.
- James Harrison Wilson (1837–1925), a third-generation Shawneetown resident, served as one of the youngest Union generals during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Geography
Old Shawneetown is located at 37°41′54"N 88°8′13"W (37.698197, -88.136857).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the village has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 278 people, 100 households, and 69 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 531.7 people per square mile (206.4/km²). There were 146 housing units at an average density of 279.2/sq mi (108.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.64% White and 0.36% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population.
There were 100 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the village the population was spread out with 33.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $18,214, and the median income for a family was $20,625. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $13,750 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $9,379. About 33.3% of families and 39.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 60.6% of those under the age of eighteen and 33.3% of those sixty five or over.
External links
Old Shawneetown photos http://www.lth6.k12.il.us/schools/gallatin/old_shawneetown.htmFurther reading
- 1887. History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co.
- Musgrave, Jon, ed. 2002. Handbook of Old Gallatin County and Southeastern Illinois. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 464 pages.
- Musgrave, Jon. 2004, Rev. ed. 2005. Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R.. Marion, Ill.: IllinoisHistory.com. 608 pages.
- Waggoner, Horace Q., interviewer. 1978. "Lucille Lawler Memoir" Shawneetown Bank Project. Sangamon State University. Springfield, Ill.