Seats available aboard Trigg's Trails, Tours and Detours

With two RIDES buses booked and only 25 people signed up so far, there is still room and time for people to sign up for the 2014 Ozark Tours - now called Trigg's Trails, Tours and Detours - through historic and natural sites of southeastern Illinois Saturday.

U.S. Forest Service Archaeologist Marie McCorvie said the tour itinerary this year is sort of a history of extractive activities in Illinois with visits to the Great Salt Springs on Salt Well Road, the Crenshaw House where John Crenshaw lived as he used slaves to work the salt mines, Illinois Iron Furnace where iron ore was smelted and the Fluorite Museum at Rosiclare chronicling the fluorspar mining industry of Hardin County. All of these activities in Southern Illinois have ceased production.

This year's tour is only a day, a decision made at the end of a grueling two-day trip with one overnight camping trip at Pounds Hollow last year.

"It seemed to me, not everyone, but the majority of the people wanted a one-day experience and to go home at the end of the day," McCorvie said.

"Last year it rained overnight and the next morning was not as pleasant as it could have been."

Both organizers and tourists likely gained a newfound respect for the hard work of the original Ozark Tour-goers who embarked on three-day excursions with two camping trips in the heat of the summer. But founder, L.O. Trigg believed the payoff of introducing newcomers to the beauty of Southern Illinois would pay off in the form of a tourism industry. And he was was right. Some credit Trigg with convincing the U.S. Congress to designate the Shawnee National Forest.

The Gallatin County and Hardin County tourism and historical societies, as well as the River-to-River Trail Society have been instrumental in this year's tour. The first stop along the tour from Harrisburg is Old Shawneetown where the Gallatin County Historical Society members will greet the group in period clothing. They will introduce the Marshall House Museum, the big state bank and the Rawlings Hotel. The society will also aid tourists through the Ohio River Scenic Byway Visitor's Center in Equality, to the stone steps hewn into a bluff at Equality by early settlers and there will be catered lunch in Equality.

Next on the literary is the Great Salt Springs and Crenshaw House which has been closed to the public for many years, though the second floor antique museum and notorious third floor where legend holds kidnapped slaves were kept remain intact.

The Hardin County Tourism Board has rebranded itself as the Illinois Ozarks in honor of Trigg's tour and organized the Hardin County portion of the tour. Hardin County stops include the old Potts Inn, Illinois Iron Furnace, Fluorite Museum and Rose Hotel for a fish fry at the end of the day.

At the Rose Hotel, Trigg's granddaughter, Janet Davis, will talk about her experiences with the tours and Shawnee Community College instructor Tony Girard will talk about American and European culture through the viewpoint of an American Indian.

The Hardin County Tourism Board is also the entity taking care of tour registrations. The cost is $120 per person which includes the bus ride, guided tour and two meals. A portion of each admission will be put toward a fund to benefit upkeep of the Crenshaw House, McCorvie said.

McCorvie believes there is at least one more year of touring left in southeastern Illinois before repeating stops or moving westward.

"I think we can get easily get another year out of it," McCorvie said.

In future years she would like to include visits to Rim Rock Recreational Area and Battery Rock on the Ohio River, if accessible by land, by boat if not.

Pre-registration for the Ozark Tour can be done by contacting the Illinois Ozarks at 618-287-4333 or at http://www.illinoisozarks.com. McCorvie said those who would like to join in on the day of the tour may also do so at the same $120 price.

2014 Ozark Tour Itinerary

8 a.m. - Registration Harrisburg FS Office

8:30 a.m. - Leave Harrisburg; Drive through New Shawneetown and Henry Eddy House

9 a.m. - Old Shawneetown

10:30 a.m. - Leave Old Shawneetown

10:45 a.m. - New Shawneetown Courthouse

11 a.m. - Leave New Shawneetown

11:30 a.m. - Equality

12:30 p.m. - Leave Equality on Saltwell Hollow Road

12:40 p.m. - Great Salt Spring

12:50 p.m. - Leave Great Salt Spring to state Route 1

1 p.m. - Hickory Hill mansion

2 p.m. - Leave Hickory Hill/Pisgah Restroom Break

2:20 p.m. - Pott's Inn

3 p.m. - Leave Pott's Inn/Spring

3:15 p.m. - Iron Furnace

3:30 p.m. - Leave IF

4 p.m. - Fluorite Museum at Rosiclare

5 p.m. - Leave Rosiclare

5:30 p.m. - Catfish dinner at Rose Hotel

6:30 p.m. - Janet Davis

7:30 p.m. - Leave Elizabethtown for Harrisburg

8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. - End at Harrisburg FS Office