Tony and I was visiting this Historical little River town in Illinois. The town is nestled along…read morethe river and is lovely. There are many old homes and some of them need to be restored. There is a nice river road that you can drive along and the small main street town is lovely. The Pope County Courthouse is a large lovely building from 1816. We parked and walked around the grounds and I took some great photos. Brief history of the building: Pope county was established January 10, 1816 from portions of Gallatin and Johnson Counties. The county seat was originally Sarahsville which was renamed Golconda in 1817 and has continued in Golconda since. The brick courthouse was built 1872-1873 and little has changed on its exterior appearance since its construction. They were getting ready for an annual festival that weekend on the grounds of the courthouse lawn. I really enjoyed this small historical town. I can't wait to go back again.

This site is a hop skip and a jump away from Wickliffe Mounds if you are passing through Paducah,…read moreKY. Cross the bridge into Illinois and take a brief excursion through river flood plain to see this site. It is quite impressive even if you are observing the mounds (respectfully) from a distance. I was moved by these features. To think what people accomplished at this site nearly a thousand years ago. Absolutely astonishing to behold. The size of these mounds is amazing.

To be honest, there really isn't that much to see. Unless you are an Ancient World History…read moreenthusiast, you may find this fascinating. It is very interesting that at one point in the past, this was an actual city. The land where the site stands today was once a major trading post on the Ohio River. If you're looking for something spectacular in sight, this probably won't be for you. There are signs and plaques that tell the story, as well as showing what was believed to have existed at the time, but not very much else. The public is not allowed near or on the mounds. Speaking of which, they really weren't that attractive as they looked like their grass hasn't been cut in years. Maybe it is intentional, for all I know. The site is very tricky to get to. The best way to get there is from Brookport, Illinois. You'll see a sign for Kincaid Mounds as you're going onto Unionville Road. It is probably ten miles from the town. Once you pass the small village of Unionville, you'll know you are getting close and follow the signs. The roads are uneven, as there are no paved roads (just dirt and rocky roads) getting to the mounds.

Mounds Public Library has a wealth of historical artifacts from the region, including some visuals…read moreof Abe Lincoln in the genealogy room, which I found fascinating. There's a beautiful old roll top desk in the center of the building, among several other authentic antique tables and eclectic furnishings. The interior is spacious and divided into a children's area, stacks of fiction and a separate, walled-off space for the genealogy room. The circulation desk is very accessible and the bathrooms are clean and spacious. There is also a clean, spacious break room with a refrigerator and coffee maker. A group of people from Morris Library at SIUC in Carbondale has taken on the project of reorganizing the books to make the library functional again. The area residents who care for the library have wonderful, warm hearts, and care for the cultural legacy of their community. Once it opens up to the public again, this library will offer its valuable assets to the people of Mounds and all of southernmost Illinois. It seems like saving this library will make a big difference, especially for the children and others who live nearby. A team of volunteers will be visiting the area next weekend, November 23 and 24, 2013.

long after making landfall in the land of Lincoln an untidy and unassuming strip of gravel fronts…read moreroute 45. along this shady slip sits a weathered plaque describing in brief the history of the here to which you have got, with license and apologies "Just About as Far West Virginia as You Can Get" pasturage on all sides, several horses prancing about, a pole barn on a lane across the way, and a bit of history in the country side; sometimes it is enough.

Located in a parking lot right next to the Flood Wall Murals, this marker points out that the Lewis…read moreand Clark expedition spent some time right here in Kentucky on their journey to explore the west. On the front of the marker, "Lewis and Clark, with the nucleus of the Corps of Discovery, stayed in present McCracken Co. in Nov. 1803 while traveling down the Ohio River on their journey to the Pacific. Clark returned in 1827 to establish Paducah. Over." On the reverse, "Nov. 11-13, 1803, Lewis and Clark stopped at Ft. Massac, Ill., near present-day Paducah and recruited men, including Indian interpreter George Drouillard. On Nov. 13, they camped in area of Metropolis Lake State Nature Preserve." The Lewis and Clark Expedition from August 31, 1803, to September 25, 1806, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. The expedition made its way westward, and crossed the Continental Divide of the Americas before reaching the Pacific Coast. [Review 16318 overall - 131 in Kentucky - 1825 of 2021.]

Friday May 16, 2014, Tony and I was visiting this lovely little historical river town in Illinois…read more It reminded me so much of little towns along the Ohio River in Ohio and West Virginia The house was closed the day we were here, so I was able to take some photos and then look them up on the internet to find out the history. Below the History of the home and the connection to the Trail of Tears Buel House, according to local tradition, was a significant site on the Cherokee Trail of Tears. The family of tanner Alexander Buel (?-1894) was said to have fed pumpkin to hungry Cherokee Indians being driven west by the federal government in 1838. The story is probably not true, however, since records indicate that the house was built in 1840. Still, it is a historically significant structure, having been continuously occupied by generations of one family for 146 years. There are indications that over the years Cherokee stopped at Golconda to trade while journeying to visit their former homes in Georgia. The Buel House, along with much of Golconda, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, as part of the Golconda Historic District. Situated at the base of the Ohio River bluffs, the two-story rectangular square-log structure has one-story additions on the east and north sides of the original building. Also on the site is a restored and furnished log cabin used for interpretive programs by the Pope County Historical Society. A paved lot provides parking facilities. The Pope County Historical Society provides maintenance services for the site and volunteers for guided tours. I would like to go here and check it out and tour the home. It is located down near the Rivers edge on Water Street.

Five HUGE stars for this Carnegie library--one of the few still in existence in the region, and the…read morelibrarian who's been here for decades: Margaret Mathis. The strengths of this library--the size of a small home with three or four rooms--are its multi-county genealogy resources, the children's reading area and the reference section. You won't find banks of computers, nor will you find a large reading room; just a very traditional, small town library across from the old Vienna (pronounced VY-anna) Court House. You can also buy books by local authors and genealogy reference materials directly from the library. Pay close attention to the hours: Open every day, 1pm-5pm; closed Thursday & Sunday. There's parking in front and around the courthouse.

The town of Vienna is so lucky to have this wonderful font of resources...any book you could want…read moreis available through a state lending program and the wait is very brief. I love being able to find most any book quickly and even if I need help finding what I want, the staff is willing to research the catalogs and get it. All the local history is here...every oral or printed. Check out this gem of a place!

Free tours of Victorian era home with unique features. includes Civil War memorabilia and period…read moreappropriate furnishings. Located one block from the Court House opposite side from the Superman statue.