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History · Old Shawneetown

1 of Old Shawneetown’s places is on the National Register

Its Register listing is the State Bank. Most of Old Shawneetown was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1937 on.

1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Old Shawneetown’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Old Shawneetown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Old Shawneetown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Old Shawneetown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewShawneetown court house: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Old Shawneetown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Old Shawneetown.

Read it all →

At least one record suggests that a village was established here by the Pekowi Shawnee led by Peter Chartier about 1758. In early November 1803, Lewis and Clark are believed to have stopped at Old Shawneetown on their way to Fort Massac, just down the Ohio River.

After the American Revolution, Shawneetown served as an important United States government administrative center for the Northwest Territory. Shawneetown and Washington, D.C., share the distinction of being the only towns chartered by the United States government.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Old Shawneetown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s3 items
Shawneetown court house1937Shawneetown court houseThe Posey Building of Shawneetown, Illinois1937The Posey Building of Shawneetown, IllinoisThe Posey Building where Abraham Lincoln and Robert Ingersoll had law offices1937The Posey Building where Abraham Lincoln and Robert I…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
John Marshall House Museum2013John Marshall House MuseumChurch at Market and Monroe in2013Church at Market and Monroe inOld Old Shawneetown, IL Bridge2009Old Old Shawneetown, IL Bridge
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Shawneetown court house
Retake this viewShawneetown court house, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Old Shawneetown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Old Shawneetown

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
State Bank
State Bank
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
State BankGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Shawnee Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBowlesville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Old Shawneetown’s history

What is on the National Register in Old Shawneetown?

One place: the State Bank (listed 1972).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.