ILTRAILS - HARDIN COUNTY

In 1801 to 1809, the territory that was Gallatin County split between the counties of Randolph and Knox. Everything East of the line running Nth from Cave In Rock remained "Old Knox County" with Vincennes as the County Seat.
This territory consisted of a fourth of Hardin County, the mouth of the Saline River as well as the area of Old Shawnee town and New Haven.
Gallatin was reduced several times:
Franklin County was organized in 1818; White county, 1815; Hardin County, 1839.
Around the 1700's, Gallatin and Hardin County were one of the same.
The Hisory of this area couldn't possibly be told in a few paragraphs and to do it justice, would,will take me a few years.
I will say that the little bit of what I've read is truly amazing and never ceases to hold my intrigue. This area is one of the few and oldest in Illinois. The History here ranges from the Mound Builders, (2 in the area you should see, Boyd's mound and Rutherford's mound near Saline)to the Shawnee Indians, the famous Cherokee Trail of Tears, the beginnings of Slavery in Illinois(salt licks), to the First Federal Bank. Other stories contain history on the Cave in Rock, to the hauntings of the Old Slavery House and of course, Abraham Lincoln. I'm sure there is more...once I've research further..and I will do my best to touch on them all.
Illinois is so rich in History and when you visit these areas... it's easy to fall back into time. The beauty of the Shawnee Forest in itself could put you right there!
History books for Hardin County are hard to come by, but I have managed to collect a few. I have been there a couple years back, but I feel it requires another visit in the Spring. I can't wait to see Elizabethtown again and enjoy some of that sweet hospitality and that awesome fried chicken! (for research purposes of course)

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