Herrin Massacre Bus Tour Begins Saturday

Herrin Massacre Bus Tour Begins in June

HERRIN -- If you ever wanted to know more about the Herrin Massacre and see the sites associated with the Mine War of Bloody Williamson, now is the time.

The massacre of the miners and guards at the Lester strip mine at the start of summer in 1922 has long marked Bloody Williamson on the nation's conscious, now residents and visitors wanting to know more of that event will have the opportunity with two Saturday bus tours scheduled for June 13 and Aug. 22.

Amy Erickson organized the tour in 2014 after realizing she had worked just down the road from the mine site for years without knowing. After a recent trip to Rwanda and Burundi in Africa where both nations had experienced hardships and massacres she realized the importance of how history, remembered, could be.

"It's a small world. I found it uncanny that in each of these situations, regardless of size or amount of people who lost their lives, rich natural resources were at its root, fueled by fear of your neighbor, fear of loss, and the big one -- lack of intervention of law and order, where no one was willing to stop the violence and bring justice," she said.

While Erickson will serve as the tour's host, area historian and author Jon Musgrave of IllinoisHistory.com will cover the history as lead guide. The tours will include stops at Station Carbondale, the former Illinois Central Railroad station in Carbondale, the Herrin City Cemetery and the Williamson County Jail Museum.

Visitors can expect new experiences and information. Families are welcome. Seats are $35 per person.

The tour will follow as much as the original route as possible highlighting the events of the two-day outbreak of violence that took place June 21-22, 1922.

"Days are different now, people handled things differently back then. People didn't talk about their grief, and it took a long time to have things surface. It's good for our communities to get past the uncomfortable feelings and celebrate the great things we have today. And never forget the great things we want to keep," encouraged Erickson.

The tour will include a sit down lunch. There will be giveaways and souvenirs. The trip will begin loading the bus at 9 a.m., depart at 9:30 a.m. and conclude by 2:30 p.m. at the Williamson County Historical Museum.

Reservations or requests for more information may be made online at www.treasuretoursSI.com, or by calling (618) 751-2924. The 2015 tour is sponsored by Station Carbondale, Inc.

Southern Illinois Treasure Tours, a new 501(c)3 non-profit, operates the tours and works with local historical societies and museums to drive new visitors to their sites with expanded opportunities for programming.

Other new tours for 2016 include a historic Orchards and Vineyards tour in the heart of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, complete with wine tastings; and a Cache River Adventure in the cypress swamps that gets participants off the bus and into a canoe in conjunction with White Crane Canoe Rentals & Guide Service, and Two Wars of the 20's Tour covering the gangster era.

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