Gold
Hill
back to
Gallatin County
Located near Shawneetown, on
the old trail that led to/from the Salt Springs to the Ohio
River. This was the route to the
Ohio River the taken by the Indians.
The first federal funded roadway in the Territory of Illinois was from
Shawneetown to Kaskaskia.
There were afew claims on Gold Hill....
It was onced claimed by Kings of Spain, then by the French who would
later be taken over by the British, because of its
location near the salt licks.
At the end of the French and Indian War, France turned over the area to
England by means of the Treaty of Paris,
signed in 1763.
Later the deciding factor concerning claims to the area, was George
Rogers Clark Expedition during the American
Revolution.
John Duff, a resident of Gold Hill, was asked by Clark to be his guide
to Vincennes. Later this same man was murdered by neighbors,
leaving behind a full blooded Indian wife and a large family of
children.
The Illinois 6h cavalry trained on Gold Hill. They made history
when General Grant was about to take Vicksburg in
April and May 1863. They participated in the Grierson Raid riding
800 miles through Rebel territory in just 17 days.
They kept the Rebels occupied and prevented them from being able to
re-inforce General Pemberton's forces in Vicksburg.
Today not much is going on at Gold Hill.
Just a few Paleo artifacts have become visible from some 30,000 years
ago. They are nearer to the surface on a hill and can
be seen due to erosion.