Thebes, Illinois History and Geology | Mississippi River | Historic Railroad and Thebes Courthouse
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- Located near the Shawnee National Forest near the tip of Southern Illinois is a Mississippi River town that is rich in history and geology. Just southeast of Cape Girardeau, Missouri the Mississippi takes a sharp bend and has cut through Thebes Gap. Known for its treacherous route for shipping, this part of the river is full of ancient geology that is fun to explore.
The Thebes Courthouse is also located here. Sitting high on a bluff this 170 year old structure built in 1848 has been claimed to have passed through its doors Dred Scott, Abraham Lincoln, and John A. Logan. A two-story structure with the courthouse on the top floor and the jail cells on the bottom. One of the cells has a dungeon like feel.
Thebes, Illinois is also home to the historic Thebes railroad. Started in 1902 this engineering marvel is a cantilever bridge that spans the Mississippi River and is the only railroad bridge between St. Louis and Memphis. The bridge was completed in April 1905 and still active today. During the construction of this bridge 25 people died.
Thebes Historical Society Website:
www.thebescourthouse.com/
Thebes Historical Society Facebook Page:
/ thebescourthouse
Was Sparhawk established before the New Madrid earthquakes?
What resources have you found regarding the creation of Thebes gap? The Mississippi River apparently flowed westbound at Scott City to create the great prairie. What resources have you found regarding the geology of this region? Interesting question is where was the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi before the Thebes gap creation? Charleston, Mo ?
Good questions! New Madrid earthquake was 1811-1812. Here’s some great info from the Illinois Geological Survey that I used as a guide for the video
isgs.illinois.edu/publications/fthorseshoelake
It’s in pdf form and is a free download. It also discusses the Cache River Valle (former Ohio river channel?) which I’ve been working on filming info for the last 3 weeks.
Hope this helps. 👍
Love your easy going manner and straight forward narration! You bring Southern Illinois alive and tell tales of our history, heritage and nature! Thank You!
My pleasure! Thank you on the kind words on the narration.
Another FASCINATING... FANTASTIC video. I live in west Kentucky...and you have me planning a road trip. Love your content
i drive by Thebes ever weekday to go to the gym and i never really visit but my grandma always told me about the courthouse and how Abraham Lincoln had been there which i always found really cool and one of my favorite memories is when i was really young i would always say "watch out someone's gonna steal your purse" cause i always called it thieves anyway thank you for this wonderful video i really need to explore near me
Thieves 😂 I, also, didn’t realize the history here. I initially came for the geology, but the courthouse history and preservation of it was too good to pass up.
Watching the historical documentaries i was fascinated and enthusiastic about traveling to put my sight and hands on the VERY SAME object in modern time of today... only to find out that it had been destroyed by the "progression of mankind" i was devastated and disappointed 😞.... in that moment i thought... "thru all off this search for history ... the ONE THING i can depend on, at least the ROCKS don't change"!
i applaud your tip of the hat to ken burns. I would clearly agree. Very good presentation. Im now on a quest to learn MORE about the building of this bridge . Truly FASCINATING ❤😊
Agreed, some absolute wonderful historical places are ravished by time for the good and the bad. The rocks (landscape/environment) do make the place. We as people are drawn to landscape for various reasons, but when there's interesting geology it makes it that much more "permanent". Ken Burns is a definitely a national treasure and an inspiration to many. Thank you for your kind words and keep on being curious and explore!
this was absolutely fascinating me and my friend have been to the missouri side of the bridge and been under it and whatnot, cool to see it on UA-cam, i live in scott city. ill have to visit thebes never been
It is truly an interesting area. Very cool that you live so close. If you can time it during low water it is a blast to explore under the bridge. Thanks for commenting and watching 👍
I am from cape Girardeau but lived in Thebes when I was about 8 it was nice to here some of the history thank you
My pleasure! Both areas are rich in history, sometimes though you have to dig a little to find it out. Thanks for watching 👍
I’ve been told those were grain bins from way back when
Very interesting! That would make sense. Thanks for the info 👍
Thank you 🙏 god bless
My pleasure!
I know this was stupid of me but when I was a kid, me and a friend would run across the railroad bridge from Scott city to Thebes to go to his grandmas house. There is an expanded metal sidewalk that runs down the center between the tracks. Hobos used to camp on top of the concrete columns on the scott city side. I’m sure they still do.
I never thought of that, but how interesting. How terrifying it would have been to hear that track vibrate when on it.
Hey Gary! I have been enjoying your videos…especially for the parts of southern Illinois that I have not been too! I love not only the history but the tidbits of info about nature!!
Thanks for the kind words and watching! Although the history part takes the longest to produce it is one of my favorite parts of editing these videos.
Really enjoyed the video, I had an aunt and uncle who lived there. Remember visiting there when I was a kid in the 70's and early 80's. remember walking up to the courthouse always enjoyed it. Thanks
Thank you! It is a remarkable place and it must of been a great time to explore it.
THANK YOU ! Another fantastic video ! I appreciate the work that goes into making one of these educational and historical videos. Thanks again !
Thank You, that means a lot! They take the longest to edit, but the lessons and knowledge from looking back at history is truly one of my favorite type of videos to release.
I like the simple and direct nature of your content. It's like taking a hike with a friend.
Thank You for the kind words and support 😀
Thanks Gary! I enjoyed the history on thebes and the video, like to visit that courthouse one day im not too far im up the road in Freeburg,Illinois where i grew up and also have the love of history. thanks again!
My pleasure! The courthouse is really cool and full of history. It’s hard for o catch it open but it’s worth it. Thanks for watching!
Keep up the good work Brother!
Thanks You!
That was a lot of work. I’ve been there and it is fun to wander about with my camera.
It truly is a beautiful place. That bridge, to me, is super photogenic. Editing the video was a challenge, but very rewarding to see it come together. Thanks for watching 👍
Really good video ! I'm getting ready to move to Southern Illinois and cannot wait to explore! Please keep the videos coming!!!!
Thank you! There’s a lot to explore, especially if you like to do a little research before you go👍
Man I love your videos. You never fail to take me back to my childhood in Southern Ill. My wife just cant understand why it takes me an hour to watch an 18 min video though. Have you done anything on McClure, IL?
Thank you and my pleasure! Lol, I hope she’s not too mad at us. Nothing in McClure yet, but there is potential there. Thanks for watching!
Current Thebes resident, thank you for covering our small town. Did you go down Fayville to Rock Springs? I love learning local history!
My pleasure! Your town has a lot of history. I did go to Rock Springs, but according to On X, it is private property, even though it looks like the property owners allow others to visit. Rock Springs is a beautiful area though. Thanks for watching!
Dang! That's a lot of work and you did it super well. Quite interesting. Love history and geography.
Thank You! It was a challenge, but a great learning experience for the next one 👍
Construction of the bridge would require lots of steam power, so maybe the bricks were part of the steam plant. ?
Fantastic video Gary. I have stopped by Thebes about half a dozen times and I saw more of the area in your video than I did in all of my stops combined. I sure missed out on the low river levels. I didn't get nearly as much river exploring in as I wanted to.
Thanks you, Jo! lol - I was in the same boat till October. I pulled up to the boat dock and a conservation police was there and asked him about the legality of just walking the river. He said it's public property up to the high water mark and he said to make sure I checked up by the bridge because there was some neat things exposed. I took his advice and spent hours recording and coming back several more times during the drought. Had no idea about the area, but it's become one of my favorite places.
Wow! This is a lot of neat information! Thank you for expanding my horizons!
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed 😀
I learned a lot of new information from your video
Thank you for all you do.
Thank you and thanks for watching
Amazing!
It truly is an interesting place!
Thanks for the video.
My pleasure!
I enjoyed this video, I would like to see more like it!
Thank You! I can see producing more like this in the future. Very glad you enjoyed it 👍
Very interesting, Gary
Thank you 😀
4:38 I immediately thought it was a large fossil
It really does look like a fossil. Have not seen that type of rock elsewhere. Thanks for watching 👍
They had Indian bones kept in the basement. My family is native to this area. I have old pictures inside and I will try to
post them. You missed the old jail at them bottom of the hill!
It would be plausible, isn’t there some burial mounds close by. Those older photos do tell a story. Lol - I did film the jail below, but it is in pretty rough shape. I had edited it, but it just didn’t seem to fit in the story at the time. Thanks for watching 👍
Gary, let me know the next time you are going to the heart of a Giant cave at Giant City. I can't seem to find it off Baptist Hill road. Thanks in advance.
Don’t know when I’ll be back, but I can try to find the marker on my GPS.
@@MarksofCuriosity thanks Gary, appreciate it.
its called a cistern, they are below ground to store ? water.
Interesting! Thanks for watching.