To be clear, this is NOT an active tavern. You won't find food or drink here. This is a historical…read moresite, where there was a place to rest two hundred years ago. The Halfway Tavern in Iuka is a fun slice of frontier history, and it's refreshingly NOT fenced off so that you can actually walk right up and see the details. The horse stalls on the ground level and the upstairs, judging by the layout where the people rested. Today it's a little dark, a little dusty and it sports a few spiderwebs but that just adds to the atmosphere of a building that's been standing since the stagecoach days when US-50 was the Midland Trail and before roadways were numbered. The marker on the site reads, "In 1779 George Rogers Clark led his army from Kaskaskia through this area to Vincennes where they captured Fort Sackville from the British. In 1818 there were several taverns on this section of the Vincennes-St. Louis Trail. Traditionally, the log building to the east was an early haven for travelers." It was erected in 1964 by the Federated Women's Clubs of Marion County and the Illinois State Historical Society. It's a quick stop, but it's an interesting one. If you enjoy historic structures that haven't been overly polished or turned into a museum. The place feels genuinely old in the best way. [Review 1064 of 2026 - 243 in Illinois - 26243 overall]

I suppose if you're a defendant you're not going to be thrilled with this building but it's worth a…read morestop if you're a traveler or a tourist. There's another photogenic white squirrel statue and this is such a friendly town if you stand next to this squirrel for even just a moment, some local will offer to hop out of their car and take a PIC of you with your phone. I grew up in Chicago so I initially thought this was a non-violent robbery attempt but instead this was a sincerely friendly encounter. It was so unusual to me that I hung around for a bit to observe and one by one and two by two other tourists stopped near the squirrel and other locals stopped to help them take pictures. There were a lot of tourists because of the total eclipse (of the sun not the heart), but I'm pretty sure that this town is always friendly. It's weird.

Small library in a small town. However, if you are a fan of Burl Ives, this is a fun place to be…read more Be sure to visit his statue across the way. His bridge is also nearby.