Top Reasons to Visit Southern Illinois

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS TOURISM BUREAU PHOTO. Alto Vineyards is the oldest of 12 wineries on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.

The 16 southernmost counties of Illinois have, for years, been nicknamed Little Egypt. With communities like Cairo, Thebes, Karnak and Dongola all snuggled in the fertile valley of the Mississippi River, the similarities to the Nile valley are more than simple names on a map.

Just as the Israelites once traveled to Egypt to purchase grain, so did residents of northern Illinois and Indiana travel to southern Illinois to buy grain and other food after the harsh winter of 1830-31. The fertility of the land here still provides food to those who have no resources or provisions of their own. That’s one explanation for the Little Egypt moniker.

Others say the numerous Indian burial mounds, pictographs and other proof of an ancient civilization here provide a physical resemblance to the Pyramids of Egypt. In 1951, when Southern Illinois University at Carbondale adopted a mascot, the students chose the Saluki, a breed of strong and fast dogs once preferred by the royal family of Egypt.

Today, Little Egypt is filled with apple and peach orchards, wineries and B&Bs, wildlife refuges and the Shawnee National Forest. It is where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated slavery, where the Cherokee Nation shed a trail of tears on their way to new lands in Oklahoma, and where the faithful (including my grandfather) built Bald Knob Cross, the nation’s largest manmade cross, on a hill over looking the meeting of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

It’s a good place to eat barbecue and fried chicken. The Giant City State Park Lodge serves both, and the little log cabins there – built by the CCC during the Great Depression – provide a warm and inviting overnight stay.

High school basketball and baseball games are fiercely spirited; opening day of deer hunting season is an excused absence from school; and when meeting another vehicle, drivers always lift their right forefinger in a friendly wave.

It’s a good place to call home.

Top Reasons to Visit Southern Illinois

Giant City State Park, Makanda: Rappelling, hiking, horseback riding, fishing and rock climbing in a forest seemingly created for giants. www.giantcitylodge.com/park

Shawnee Hills Wine Trail: Featuring 12 wineries, 16 bed and breakfast inns, numerous restaurants, art galleries and festivals. www.shawneewinetrail.com

Stinson Library, Anna: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, built of native limestone and designed by architect Walter Burley Griffin, who worked with Frank Lloyd Wright. Recognized as a pivotal work in the evolution of early modern architecture in the United States. www.stinsonlibrary.org

Lincoln/Douglas Debate Sites: Site of the third in a series of seven debates over the issue of slavery. Lincoln Park in Jonesboro is now a national historic site; the nearby Union County Courthouse contains original papers in Lincoln’s handwriting. Lincoln slept at a house on Main Street in Anna.

Bald Knob Cross, Alto Pass: On the highest point of Southern Illinois, the cross is 111 feet high, 63 feet wide and illuminated. Can be seen about 50 miles away a clear night. Easter sunrise service, a tradition since 1937, draws hundreds to the base of the cross.

Snake Road, Wolf Lake: The only road in the United States closed each spring and fall for the migration of rattle snakes.

Trail of Tears: In the winter of 1838-39, the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Creek nations were force-marched through this region while en route to their new home in Oklahoma. Many died and are buried at Camp Ground Cemetery. A state forest, hunting lodge and numerous other sites in Union County commemorate this tragic time in American history. www.nps.gov/trte

Kornthal Church, Jonesboro: Built by Austrian Lutherans in 1853 and highlighting superior quality handcrafted woodwork and décor. www.shawneeheartland.com

Bird watching in Shawnee National Forest, LaRue Pine Hills and the Union County Refuge: Home to warblers, nuthatches, red-headed woodpeckers, red-shouldered hawks, and numerous shorebirds and waterfowl.

Fruit production: Largest peach-producing county in Illinois, plus lots of you-pick berry farms, apple orchards and vineyards. www.agfun.com

For more information about visiting Southern Illinois, call (618) 833-9928 or (800) 248-4373 or visit www.southernmostillinois.com.

Post by Diana Lambdin Meyer of Parkville, Mo., 

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