Murphysboro’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Murphysboro. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Established in September 1843, Murphysboro is the second county seat of Jackson County. The town's creation is tied to the disastrous fire which destroyed the courthouse in the first county seat, Brownsville. The fire proved to be the catalyst to move the county seat to a more central location. The name was decided for the new town when William C. Murphy's name was drawn from a hat containing the names of the three commissioners who chose the new location, a 20-acre (81,000 m2) tract of land donated by Dr. John Logan and Elizabeth Logan.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Murphysboro’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Murphysboro’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFor sale. Southeast of Murphysbor…, 1940: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Murphysboro, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Murphysboro is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Murphysboro has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Robert W. Hamilton House in Murphysboro, 2.4 miles away.
Murphysboro and the nearest listed places
Closest to Murphysboro
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as For sale. Southeast of Murphysboro, Illinois (1940) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1) and the National Register (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.