Even on a sultry August day, the air, on the approach to the tunnel, suddenly cools. Ghost hunters believe that a drop of temperature means that something spirit-like is drawing energy from the air, and appropriately in a place so entrenched in the past one can easily imagine the rumble of freight cars clacking along the path and disappearing into the black tunnel just ahead of our steps now. The tunnel, like so much of southern Illinois, surprises a first-time visitor.
It is feet long, and upon entering, you leave the light behind and enter into complete darkness except for the tiny light of the outdoors far at the other end. Across the road from the restaurant adjacent to the trail is the Stonefort Depot Museum, which provides an extensive amount of information on local history, including the railroad and houses a large collection of old photographs and maps. Linda Blackman, the owner and operator, is a fascinating wealth of information, and her love and pride for the area and its history is clearly evident.
She brings the past alive and what an intricate past this part of the state has! In the s, southern Illinois became known as Little Egypt, most likely due to the amount of settlers that came from northern Illinois to buy grain during the years when they had bad harvests, just as the ancient people traveled to Egypt to buy grain in the biblical references in Genesis.
Sometime later towns in southern Illinois were named Cairo, Thebes and Karnak as in the country of Egypt. There is also a rich history pertaining to the Underground Railroad and near Equality on Hickory Hill stands what is known locally as the Old Slave House.
The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as The Crenshaw House and is purported to have served as a stop for the kidnapping networks on the Reverse Underground Railroad. While the house is presently not open to the public ever since the state took it over, I did have the opportunity to visit it 21 years ago when it was still privately owned. Following World War I, in , the United States adopted national prohibition, and Charlie Birger, a miner in the expanding coal mining community of Harrisburg, saw this as a business opportunity and became one of the most illustrious characters in southern Illinois history.
He built a fortified speakeasy named Shady Rest just across the line in Williamson County, along the old Highway 13 halfway between Harrisburg and Marion. Though arrested and released many times over the years in the rivalry between Birger, the Ku Klux Klan and the Shelton Gang, Birger was arrested in June on a murder charge and ultimately hanged on April 19, , at the Franklin County jail in Benton in front of a crowd of nearly 5, To see how it currently looks like outside, below are some pictures of the area from online web cameras.
You can also find the distance to the main cities in the region and to cities in the rest of America. There are 13 cities named Newcastle in America. All places in the world called "Newcastle". World Cities Cities in America that are also found in other countries in the world. Top 10 cities in America and distance from Newcastle. With a travel advise, tourists can be informed about security risks during traveling or vacation in a foreign country.
Be informed about the risks of kidnapping, armed robbery, bombings, natural disasters or war. Know which areas are unsafe in Americao.
Be vigilant, or avoid certain areas when on vacation in America. Alerts and advice. Information on travel documents, visa applications and the cost of a visa. Contact information of embassies in America. The recommended format to use is [City, Country] i. About How Far is it Between This tool can be used to find the distance between two places.
There are two distances output: As the Crow Flies - The direct distance between points Distance by land transport When possible - Distance estimate when you travel by road and sea.
The distances can be output in the following units: km kilometers miles The output is via a measurement of the distance and also a map that shows that two locations and the path between them as the crow flies and the route by land transport. You can use the controls on the map to: Pan the map Zoom the Map Switch between Map and Satellite views Some Examples of Distances Some of the distances between cities that can be found using the system.
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