Cave-In-Rock, Illinois

Cave-In-Rock
Main Street of downtown Cave-In-Rock, Illinois in 2013
Main Street of downtown Cave-In-Rock, Illinois in 2013
Location of Cave-In-Rock in Hardin County, Illinois.
Location of Cave-In-Rock in Hardin County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 37°28′12″N 88°9′59″W / 37.47000°N 88.16639°W / 37.47000; -88.16639
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyHardin
Founded byEarliest known permanent settlers arrived in 1816[1]
Named forThe Cave near the town
Area
 • Total
0.41 sq mi (1.07 km2)
 • Land0.37 sq mi (0.97 km2)
 • Water0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)
Elevation390 ft (120 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
228
 • Density609.63/sq mi (235.65/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)
62919[4]
Area code618
FIPS code17-11826
GNIS feature ID2397577[3]
Wikimedia CommonsCave-In-Rock, Illinois

Cave-In-Rock is a village in Hardin County, Illinois, United States. Its principal feature and tourist attraction is nearby Cave-In-Rock, on the banks of the Ohio River. In 1816, the earliest known permanent white settlers arrived and started building a town near the cave. The town was originally known as Rock and Cave, Illinois, with a post office under this name. On October 24, 1849, the town was officially renamed Cave-In-Rock. Cave-In-Rock was incorporated as a village in 1901.[1][5] The population was 228 at the 2020 census.[6]

Beginning in the 1790s, Cave-in-Rock became a refuge stronghold for frontier outlaws, on the run from the law which included river pirates and highwaymen Samuel Mason and James Ford, tavern owner/highwayman Isaiah L. Potts, serial killers/bandits the Harpe brothers, counterfeiters Philip Alston, Peter Alston, John Duff, Eson Bixby, and the Sturdivant Gang, and the post-American Civil War bandit, Logan Belt.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ a b "Hardin County Illinois Online: History".
  2. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cave-In-Rock, Illinois
  4. ^ "Cave In Rock to celebrate Zip Code Day, Saturday 6.29.19". Hardin County Independent. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Callary, Edward (2010). Place Names of Illinois. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. p. 62. ISBN 9780252090707.
  6. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Jackson, Shadrach L. (1888). "The Life of Logan Belt the Noted Desperado of Southern Illinois: A Complete Life History of the Most Daring Desperado Ever Know to Civilization; A True and Vividly Written Narrative". Cave-in-Rock, IL.
  8. ^ Jackson, Shadrach L. (1888). "The Life of Logan Belt the Noted Desperado of Southern Illinois: A Complete Life History of the Most Daring Desperado Ever Know to Civilization; A True and Vividly Written Narrative". Cave-in-Rock, IL.
  9. ^ ""Differing Stories About Logan Belt", The Southern Illinoisan Newspaper". Carbondale, IL: The Southern Illinoisan. February 1, 2001.