Jackson County, Illinois History

In the path of the 1925 Tri-State Tornado
The most destructive tornado in U.S. history

We invite you to explore our history at our local museum:

Jackson County Historical Society Headquarters

The Society has made its library and family history collections available to the public for many years, however, due to lack of display area, we had been unable to develop our many other fascinating collections into displays. The Jackson County Historical Centre will provide a home for the Society and space to display our many valuable collections. The Society has a number of exhibits planned for the new building. The Society has hundreds of photographs of the 1925 Tornado which have never been exhibited. Plans for other exhibits include a working turn-of-the-century newspaper, our large textile collection of clothing dating from the early 1800's, an exhibit on early coal mines (Murphysboro was the site of the first coal mine in the state), and an exhibit on early historical trails. (The path followed by the George Rogers Clark Expedition and the Ft. Massac to Kaskaskia Trail ran through Murphysboro on Seventeenth Street.)