Silkwood Inn

Silkwood Inn
Silkwood Inn
	Silkwood Tavern [1]
	Location of Silkwood Inn in Illinois
Location	Mulkeytown, Illinois
Coordinates	37°58′51.492″N89°6′57.2688″W / 37.98097000°N 89.115908000°W Coordinates: 37°58′51.492″N89°6′57.2688″W / 37.98097000°N 89.115908000°W
Area	Tyrone Township, Franklin County, Illinois
Built	1827
Architectural style(s)	Log tavern
Owner	Mulkeytown Area Historical Society

Last updated February 22, 2019

The Silkwood Inn is a historic building in Mulkeytown, Illinois.

Mulkeytown is an unincorporated and census-designated place in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 175.

History

The Silkwood Inn, also known as the "Silkwood Tavern" as well as the "Half Way House" (due to its location approximately halfway between Shawneetown and Kaskaskia), was originally built by Barzilla (Basil) Silkwood, upon his arrival to Illinois from Kentucky, serving as an inn and tavern along the Old Shawneetown - Kaskaskia Trail that connected communities in Southern Illinois during the early 1800s.

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It has the 5th largest Gross Domestic Product by state, is the 6th-most populous U.S. state and 25th-largest state in terms of land area. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in northern and central Illinois, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, contains over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports around the world from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean; as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway on the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.

Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Although styled as the "State of Kentucky" in the law creating it, (because in Kentucky's first constitution, the name state was used) Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth. Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.

The trail led from Old Shawneetown, Illinois ( 37°41′54″N88°8′13″W / 37.69833°N 88.13694°W / 37.69833; -88.13694 - located along the Ohio River), to the original state capital of Illinois of Kaskaskia, Illinois ^[2] ( 37°55′17″N89°54′59″W / 37.92139°N 89.91639°W / 37.92139; -89.91639 ).

Kaskaskia is a historically important village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. In the 2010 census the population was 14, making it the second-smallest incorporated community in the State of Illinois in terms of population, behind Valley City. As a major French colonial town of the Illinois Country, in the 18th century its peak population was about 7,000, when it was a regional center. During the American Revolutionary War, the town, which by then had become an administrative center for the British Province of Quebec, was taken by the Virginia militia during the Illinois campaign. It was designated as the county seat of Illinois County, Virginia, after which it became part of the Northwest Territory in 1787. Kaskaskia was later named as the capital of the United States' Illinois Territory, created on February 3, 1809. In 1818, when Illinois became the 21st U.S. state, the town briefly served as the state's first capital until 1819, when the capital was moved to more centrally located Vandalia.

Priscilla

While visiting a plantation in Georgia in the 1830s, Silkwood became acquainted with several slaves. Among them was a young girl named Priscilla. When the owner of the plantation died, the slaves were sold and Priscilla was bought by a Cherokee chief and taken to live on a reservation. When the Indians were moved from the reservation in 1838 along the Trail of Tears, they passed through Southern Illinois on their way to the Indian Territory. Once again, Silkwood's path intertwined with Priscilla's. Silkwood was in Jonesboro, Illinois for a business trip when the Indians moved through the area. He recognized Priscilla, and bought her for $1,000 in gold. Priscilla was taken to the inn, where she was accepted as a member of the family. She died in 1892 and was buried beside the Silkwoods in the Reid-Kirkpatrick Cemetery, about two miles northwest of the inn.^[3]

Jonesboro is a city in Union County, Illinois, United States. Located in Southern Illinois, the population was 1,821 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,853 in 2000. It is the county seat of Union County. The city is known for being tied to its close neighbor Anna, together known as Anna-Jonesboro.

Hollyhocks

When Priscilla came to Southern Illinois, she brought some hollyhock seeds that she planted at her new home. The hollyhocks have continued to thrive in front of the inn, and are still known as the Priscilla hollyhocks.^[4]

Alcea is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Western Hemisphere, the streambank wild hollyhock, belongs to a different genus.

Family home

The inn over time became the family home of John & Jean Crowe.

Around 1983, the inn (then the home to the Crowe family) was badly damaged by fire, and was almost demolished.

The Crowe family, upon learning of the deep historical significance of the structure to region, donated the building to the Mulkeytown Area Historical Society.

Museum

The Mulkeytown Area Historical Society has restored the Silkwood Inn to its original exposed log structure. The interior is furnished with 19th-century period-correct items, either on loan or that have been donated to the Silkwood Inn.

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References

↑ Sickler, Linda (September 26, 1993). "The Silkwood Inn". rootsweb. The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
↑ Malkovich, Becky (Oct 11, 2011). "Trails were our first interstates". The Southern Illinoisan. The Southern. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
↑ Sickler, Linda (September 26, 1993). "The Silkwood Inn". rootsweb. The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
↑ Sickler, Linda (September 26, 1993). "The Silkwood Inn". rootsweb. The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

External links

West Franklin Historical District & Silkwood Inn Museum - Southern Illinois Association of Museums

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[1] Sickler, Linda (September 26, 1993). "The Silkwood Inn". rootsweb. The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

[2] Malkovich, Becky (Oct 11, 2011). "Trails were our first interstates". The Southern Illinoisan. The Southern. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

[3] Sickler, Linda (September 26, 1993). "The Silkwood Inn". rootsweb. The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

[4] Sickler, Linda (September 26, 1993). "The Silkwood Inn". rootsweb. The Southern Illinoisan. Retrieved 14 March 2016.

Silkwood Inn
Silkwood Tavern^[1]
Location of Silkwood Inn in Illinois
Location	Mulkeytown, Illinois
Coordinates	37°58′51.492″N89°6′57.2688″W / 37.98097000°N 89.115908000°W / 37.98097000; -89.115908000 Coordinates: 37°58′51.492″N89°6′57.2688″W / 37.98097000°N 89.115908000°W / 37.98097000; -89.115908000
Area	Tyrone Township, Franklin County, Illinois
Built	1827
Architectural style(s)	Log tavern
Owner	Mulkeytown Area Historical Society