Southern Illinois

United States

Southern Illinois connects with 14025 places across 27 topics through 711 connections, spanning sports, literature, government, and natural history. It shares many connections with Illinois and neighboring Missouri, with a strong cluster tied to the Mississippi River crossings and Civil War history. Despite the region's Southern cultural roots, 40% of eligible men joined the Union Army during the Civil War, a higher share than the rest of the state. Winery development in the Shawnee Hills reflects a more recent layer of its identity.