Well, Sarah and I had a great long weekend hanging out and researching historical sites together. We went to the library and did some homework at the beginning of the week and we also went to the Du Quoin State Fair on Sunday and had a great time. Sarah and I decided that since I currently live in Williamson County that we would go visit a historical site in my county. After researching and reading about a few different sites Sarah and I first decided that we would go visit Willis Allen's House. So we headed over to Marion to check it out. However, when we got there we realized that it is currently someones home. We were a little disappointed because Willis Allen was the first Williamson County man to go to the U.S. House of Representatives. Also, the house is the oldest in Marion, Illinois!! But Sarah told me to not worry because she was prepared and had a back-up plan! I was very relieved and glad that I had her along for the ride at that point! So we headed on down a couple blocks to the old Williamson County jail (currently the Williamson County Historical Museum).
The Williamson County Jail served as a jail for almost sixty years. During its operation as a jail, it housed prisoners involved in significant evens in Williamson County's history and the history of Illinois. The Williamson County Jail served the citizens of the county from 1913 until 1971, when it closed. The facility was built to house 81 men and 6 women at one time, with a total prisoner capacity of 87. Something that Sarah and I found out when researching the jail was that Williamson County was actually a a very violent area of the county in the late 1800's into the 1930's. Sarah and I never realized this! There was a lot of labor violence due to the growth of coal mining in the county. It also was a strong location for the Ku Klux Klan violence and gang violence which was attributed to bootlegging during Prohibition. The county was actually nicknamed "Bloody Williamson" and the jail was often filled to near capacity or more than capacity to acomodate those awaiting trial. After the jail closed it was sold for $1.00 to the local historical society and is now a history museum. It was posted to the National Register of HIstoric Places on May 30, 2007. It was about a 35 mile round trip for Sarah and I and we traveled my car. I had a great time learning some interesting history about Williamson County with Sarah this weekend and am glad we had the chance to hang out together!
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