Shawneetown, IL

Shawneetown had 1,054 residents in 2020 and serves as the Gallatin County seat in southeastern Illinois. Illinois Route 13 runs through the city, three miles northwest of the Ohio River and the Kentucky border at Old Shawneetown. The older town began as an Ohio River port with banking, ferry traffic, and salt production, but the river that made the original settlement valuable also repeatedly threatened it. The great flood of 1937 inundated Old Shawneetown and led many residents to move inland to the present city.

ATTRDougtone / CC BY-SA 2.0

That split between old and new Shawneetown is the key to understanding the place. The current city carries the county offices, schools, homes, and everyday businesses, while Old Shawneetown preserves the riverfront history a few miles away. The Ohio River remains part of the local view, and Route 13 points toward both the old town and Harrisburg. Shawneetown’s story is therefore about movement: boats and ferries in the early years, floodwater in 1937, and a town rebuilt on higher ground without losing its connection to the original river landing.