Area occupied by the county in 1820

Map drawn up from Nannie Gray’s 1939 map by Ron Emery, isolating which areas of the county early pioneers established themselves and  indians, predominently Shawnee, inhabited and lived.  Early settlers in this area often had to seek the security of forts for the night to avoid contact with native americans.

Early in our local history, a truce was made between the Shawnee of Southern Illinois and the Kaskaskians who inhabited the western side of the Big Muddy River to the Mississipi. Due to regular intrusions on both sides, one of the last battles for area dominance among the native Americans took place in 1802 just three miles southwest of West Frankfort near the county line. The Kaskaskians, led by Chief John DuQuoin, defeated the Shawnee soundly.

After that time, only a few lone leftovers from the Shawnee nation would be found wandering this area over the next two decades. The Kaskaskians, having been exposed to the early French, appear to have been considerably friendlier and up into the early 1830’s often visited the local hunting grounds and fishing spots. It apparently wasn’t unusual in later times for local pioneers to visit their temporary hunting villages to share stories and songs with the natives.

(Data from History of Williamson County, Milo Erwin)