Herrin: The Brief History of an Infamous American City

by John Griswold

Herrin, Illinois, has seen many dramatic events unfold in the nearly two hundred years since it was a bell-shaped prairie on the frontier. Now, Herrin native John Griswold, a writer and teacher at the University of Illinois, provides the first comprehensive history of this most American city, a place that in its time became not just a melting pot, but a cauldron. Discover why the coal was so good in the "Quality Circle" and what happened to the boom that followed its discovery. Explore the roots of the vicious Herrin Massacre of 1922 and learn why the entire nation has focused its gaze on this small Midwestern city so many times. Incorporating the most recent scholarship, interviews, and classic histories and narratives, this brief and entertaining history is illustrated with more than seventy-five archival photos that help tell this important American story.

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like a more informal, personal version of Paul Angle's book Bloody Williamson, and I'd say I enjoyed it more. More condensed, definitely.

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't heard of Herrin, except as a "big" town the county over from where my Dad grew up. But you don't often find books covering recent history in Southern Illinois, so I downloaded this from the library. I found it quite excellent. Herrin didn't have 15 minutes of fame, but it has had 15 minutes of infamy a few times, covered by this book. You get some very early history of the area to start the book, laying out the early growth of the city and county. The author includes an anecdote concerning John James Audubon dealing with Herrinites wanting to steal his watch, which contains one of the pithiest comments I've ever read as a punchline, something like "and he was a watercolorist". Funny, and well written. The book then covers the rise and fall of the coal industry in the county, as well as the battles between the pro-Prohibition KKK and the anti-Prohibition bootleggers that involved government officials on both sides, and regular callouts of state troops. Interesting was the use of the town hospital as a hangout for the bootleggers, which was at one point the subject of a shootout. The author also covers the rise and decline of the unions. Note that the author's family was involved in the union, and the writing tends to highlight the union cause. The end of the book covers much of the lawlessness of battling bootleggers, including a mention of an early aerial bombing of a gang bar/hangout in the county. Through most of the anecdotes, people, usually county residents, are killed. There are as many people killed in the stories in this book as in a typical war movie. Amazing. Interesting, colorful, and nicely written.

[Sara Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lost my mother a few years back and I did a Google search on her home town. My mother Judith East graduated Herrin High School in 1958. I enjoyed reading about the tiny town she came from.