Legends And Lore Of Southern Illinois

In the 1950s and '60s, John W. Allen told the people of southern Illinois about themselves-about their region, its history, and its folkways-in his series of newspaper articles, "It Happened in Southern Illinois." Each installment of the series depicted a single item of interest-a town, a building, an enterprise, a person, an event, a custom. Originally published in 1963, Legends and Lore of Southern Illinois brings together a selection of these articles, preserving a valuable body of significant local history and cultural lore.

In his descriptive, engaging style, Mr. Allen wrote these sketches of the people of southern Illinois-of their beliefs, their endeavors, successes, failures, and tragedies, and of the land to which they came. There are stories here of slaves and their masters, criminals, wandering peddlers, politicians, law courts and vigilantes, and of boat races on the rivers. Allen also looks at the region's earlier history, describing American Indian ruins, monuments, and artifacts, as well as the native population's encounters with European settlers. While many of the vestiges of the region's past culture have all but disappeared, this new edition of Legends and Lore of Southern Illinois will help to preserve its memory for future generations.