Shawneetown, Illinois

City: Shawneetown

County: Gallatin

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 37.6833, -88.1333

Shawneetown was located on the Ohio River and may have predated the American Revolution. The first official plat was conducted in 1810 and a land office was placed there in 1812. The town primarily served as a trading post for the nearby Gallatin Saline Lands, and its prosperity rose and fell with the salt mining business. As a result, it became the site of Illinois' first bank. In 1812, Governor Ninian Edwards appointed Shawneetown as the seat of newly-created Gallatin County. In 1827, the General Assembly authorized the seat to be moved to Equality. When Saline County was split off from Gallatin in 1847, the seat returned to Shawneetown.

History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois (Chicago: Goodspeed, 1887), 40-41, 62-66, 92-98.