Follow
Please add profiles for those who were born, lived or died in Williamson County, Illinois.
Official Website
Williamson County was formed on February 28, 1839, and was named for Williamson County, Tennessee. Many of its settlers were from the Uplands South, traveling via the Ohio River from Kentucky and Virginia.
It became a center of coal mining, attracting numerous European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Labor tensions rose as workers sought to unionize and improve their wages and conditions. Mine owners resisted and several episodes of violence resulted during strikes and other work actions. resulted in several episodes of violence. Williamson County is often referred to as "Bloody Williamson," due to several outbreaks of violence that have few parallels in American history.
These include the Bloody Vendetta (1876), armed confrontation between families and associates during the waning days of Reconstruction; the Carterville Massacre (1899), a Coal Strike (1906), the Herrin Massacre (1922), the Klan War (1924–1926), and the Birger/Shelton Gang War (1926).
During the so-called Klan War, a mob of perhaps 1,300 men were deputized by the local sheriff. Starting on 1 February 1924, the posse began raiding the homes of local mine workers, mostly Italian immigrants. The Klan was inspired by both nativist and Prohibitionist fervor. Violence continued sporadically between bootleggers and the Klan. Twenty people were killed before peace was restored.
In June 1915, a Sicilian miner accused of the fatal shooting of a wealthy local resident was lynched in Johnston City, Illinois by a mob.[6] The Illinois National Guard was deployed to prevent rioting between the miner's supporters and opponents. They were also later ordered to various locations repeatedly during the 1920s to separate warring parties and attempt to keep order.
Adjacent Counties
Cities & Villages
- Bush
- Cambria
- Carbondale (part)
- Carterville
- Colp
- Crainville
- Creal Springs
- Energy
- Freeman Spur (part)
- Herrin
- Hurst
- Johnston City
- Marion (County Seat, part)
- Pittsburg
- Spillertown
- Stonefort (part)
Towns, Communities & Precincts
Attila | Blairsville | Chamness | Clifford | Corinth | Crab Orchard | Crenshaw | Dewmaine | Dog Walk | Dykersburg | East Marion | Fergestown | Grassy | Halfway (Little Juarez) | Hudgins | Lake Creek | New Dennison | No. 9 | Paineville | Palso | Pulleys Mill | Southern | Stiritz | West Marion | Whiteash | Willeford
Cemeteries
Links
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Williamson County Historical Society
Williamson County Genealogy Library & Resources
