Southern Illinois took place in Williamson County between 1839 and 1876. This was unusual, as crime was almost non-existent in Illinois during its frontier years prior to this period of lawlessness. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln ran for the U.S. Senate against Stephen A. Douglas. A debate was held in seven towns in Illinois, one being near Jonesboro. Many of the people living in Southern Illinois were first- or second-generation Southerners. Cairo, Illinois, at the southern tip where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi, was of strategic importance. On either side of the rivers were states which, despite remaining in the Union, had
Muddy Creek (Lamine River) of Sedalia. The stream passes south of the community of Newland and enters the Lamine River just west of the Pettis-Cooper county line four miles north-northwest of Clifton City at . Muddy Creek was so named on account of its muddy water. Muddy Creek (Lamine River) Muddy Creek is a stream in Johnson and Pettis Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a tributary of Lamine River. The stream headwaters arise in southeastern Johnson County just east of the community of Sutherland and Missouri Route 23 at . The stream flows northeast and enters Pettis County about three