MURPHYSBORO, Illinois – Continuing a tradition that dates back to 1931, this year’s Trigg Ozark Tour will be held on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and will take participants on an all-day journey back in time to the place where Illinois began, Randolph County.
Tickets are still available for an excursion that will give participants a glimpse of the Indian, French, British, and American periods in Illinois history.
The all-day tour will visit the abandoned campus of Shiloh College, the alma mater of Southern Illinois’s favorite son, General John A. Logan, the Pierre Menard Home, the only building remaining from the state’s first capitol, the remains of French Fort Kaskaskia, the Old Creole House, a typical dwelling of the French period, the Modoc rock shelter, an important prehistoric archaeological site, and the impressive stone remains of French Fort de Chartres.
The Trigg Ozark Tours began in 1931, as part of Eldorado newspaperman “Colonel” L. O. Trigg’s campaign to bring a National Forest to Southern Illinois, and to boost the region’s severely weakened economy.
Mr.Trigg would invite friends, politicians, journalists, and other influential citizens, to join him in touring the scenic, historical, and otherwise notable attractions of Southern Illinois, frequently bouncing over dusty roads on the back of a flat bed truck. The group would camp along the way, with meals provided by members of churches and other community groups.The tours greatly enhanced the image of the region, and were an important factor in establishment of the Shawnee National Forest.
Mr. Trigg died in 1949, but the tours continued under other leadership into the 1970s.
In 2013 the USDA Forest Service revived the tours, both to honor “Colonel” Trigg’s rôle in establishing the Shawnee Forest and to draw attention to the many recreational attractions that Southern Illinois has to offer.
Since then, the tours have been offered annually or semi-annually in partnership with various non-profit community groups, including the Saline County Tourism Board, the Gallatin County Tourism, the River-to-River Trail Society, and the Friends of the Shawnee National Forest.
Although air-conditioned buses have replaced the original flat-bed trucks, the tours still further Trigg’s original purpose in introducing natives and visitors alike to the scenic and historical attractions that Southern Illinois has to offer.
This year’s tour will be a historical bus tour of Randolph County.
Reservations are required in order to take part in this year’s Trigg Ozark Tour.
In order to reserve a seat, call Mark York at (618) 499-3801 or email him at myork@shawneelink.net.
The cost of the tour is $50 per person, which includes the bus tour, a sack lunch, a commemorative t-shirt, a guidebook, and the services of knowledgeable guides.