Our 25th wedding anniversary was supposed to be marked with a gathering of friends and family, but like everyone else with grand plans during the summer of 2020, we had to do the pandemic punt.
Instead, Tonya and I returned to our honeymoon spot, a trip made possible by our nearly complete lack of resources after we got married in July 1995. With very little money and just a few days off work, we celebrated our nuptials back then with a couple of nights in a cabin on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River at Cave-In-Rock State Park in southern Illinois.
It was great. A warm, sunny midsummer afternoon seemed made for sipping cold drinks and watching river tugs push barges slowly down the Ohio. Throw in some casual spelunking and a bit of river pirate history, and it was an excellent way to celebrate being hitched.
Amid the worldwide pandemic 25 years later, we had slightly more disposable income, a 17-year-old son, a better vehicle and farther to travel, but Cave-In-Rock once again became a great midsummer destination. We even rented the same cabin we’d stayed in long ago. We had more time, too, so we took the scenic route.
Cave-In-Rock is at the southern terminus of Illinois Route 1, the modern incarnation of the historic pathways connecting bustling southern Illinois cities such as Elizabethtown and Shawneetown with northern destinations including Danville and Chicago. In fact, on a honeymoon stop in Shawneetown, a proud docent related for us a story of how the Bank of Illinois, housed in a Greek columned structure that still stands, refused a loan to the nascent city of Chicago. The swampy backwater town along Lake Michigan wasn’t worth the risk, it seems.
The route that became Illinois 1, long ago was known by several other names. In Chicago, it was simply known as the State Road, a name that survives now as State Street. Though Illinois 1 was straightened and mostly follows Halsted Street theses days, its old route can still be puzzled out from modern maps.
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It’s why Vincennes Avenue heads southwest after it branches off from State Street at 69th Street in Chicago instead of southeast toward Vincennes, Indiana.
In Blue Island, Vincennes Avenue merges into Western Avenue, which turns into Dixie Highway near Dixmoor. When Dixie Highway merges onto Chicago Road in Chicago Heights, it officially rejoins Illinois 1.
A short road that connects Dixie Highway and Halsted Street in Chicago Heights still is officially called the Route 1 Cutoff, marking the spot where the state road diverges from its old path.
But that doesn’t mean its identity crisis is resolved for points south. People in Chicago Heights, Steger, Crete and surrounding towns varyingly call it Dixie Highway, Chicago Road and Main Street, and for a short stretch between U.S. 30 in Chicago Heights and Sauk Trail in South Chicago Heights, it was part of the historical Lincoln Highway.
Confusing matters even more, the route was called Hubbard’s Trace in the era before motorcars. According to the excellent book “The Dixie Highway in Illinois” by the late Homewood historian Jim Wright, the route linked a series of trading posts established by fur trapper Gurdon Hubbard in the 1830s between Chicago and Vincennes, Indiana — an important regional commerce center in colonial times.
It’s why so many versions of the path are still officially called Vincennes Road, including one south of Beecher that once again diverges from Illinois 1 before reuniting with the modern route in Momence.
Our 2020 trip included a journey across the Ohio River on a small car ferry at the very south end of Illinois 1, a nice way to cap off an interesting road trip that took us into the heart of small towns along the cusp of the Indiana border. It was a weird time to make such a trip. Besides the pandemic, it was just a few months before the presidential election and people seemed more divided than ever on just about everything.
We embarked with a bit of trepidation because of that, but nearly all the people we interacted with were nice, and few wanted to argue about politics or health care policy. Just as everything was going virtual, it was good to have that real life reminder.
The journey down and back up Illinois 1 also was a reminder of all the stuff we usually miss as we zoom back and forth on interstates, concerned only with our destinations.
For about 15 years earlier this century, the first weekend in June marked an annual celebration of the suburban stretch of Illinois 1. The Drivin’ the Dixie event united enthusiasts of history, classic cars, and those who were just looking for an interesting afternoon drive.
Though not officially dead, the event hasn’t been organized since 2019, and its traditional weekend this year has come and gone.
But the great thing about a historic road is that exploring it is as easy as hopping into a car and going. And there’s plenty to see along the way, even just in the south suburbs.
Downtown Blue Island has a wealth of attractions, including thrift stores, great restaurants and excellent local beer. And the water aeration station along the Calumet River is a great jumping off point for excursions along the waterway.
Not far from the old Dixie Highway, prairie remnants in the Markham area are reminders of the legacy of the land and its natural history. If you know where to look, you can find the ancient shore of glacial Lake Chicago near the intersection of Dixie Highway and 175th Street in Homewood.
Another side trip offers a more stark vision from even longer ago, where Thornton’s limestone quarry exposes the fossilized remains of a coral reef millions of years old.
Businesses and restaurants in all the towns along the way offer interesting eating and shopping opportunities and a few art architecture gems line the route, such as a Depression-era woodcut in the lobby of the Homewood post office and the art deco magnificence of Bloom High School in Chicago Heights.
Other reasons to drive the Dixie include famous frozen treats such as Italian ice in Chicago Heights or ice cream next to a giant Charlie Brown statue in Beecher.
While the historic Illinois 1 route is known by many names, it’s just one of many that can lead to an afternoon of fun. And if you don’t watch out, it could lead you all the way to the Ohio River.
Landmarks is a weekly column by Paul Eisenberg exploring the people, places and things that have left an indelible mark on the Southland. He can be reached at [email protected].