New Athens, IL

New Athens is a St. Clair County river village laid out around a square on the Kaskaskia. The first town plat was filed in 1836, and a flatboat ferry and steam sawmill helped the landing grow. It was first called Athens, then became New Athens to avoid confusion with another Illinois town. Today, the river remains part of the local map, with a campground and access to the surrounding Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area. This is southwest Illinois in a water-and-history shape.