Location of Shady Rest (williamson co.)

[roundhat]

Does anyone know the exact location of what used to be Shady Rest. I was wondering if it had been strip mined or if it is privately owned.

 

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[EdleBrock]

Here's an interesting note from this link:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7847/birger4.html?200717#A glimpse

My grandfather tells me about his father's experience with the Burgers. My great Grandfather was in the bakery business in Marion , Illinois during the time of the gang wars in the area. He was formerly from the Harrisburg area and, since it was only a few miles between the two towns, he developed wholesale accounts in Harrisburg. This required very early morning deliveries. The route was state route 13 and passed within what was probably 100 feet of the front porch of Shady Rest.

If you check Google Maps for Harrisburg and go West on old Illinois 13 theres a jog South which according to the map in this thread, (http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,125224.0.html) Shady Rest is located somewhere in the vicinity, just North of the road.

The info above supports it being within 100 ft of old 13...but that's from somebody's memory...have to start somewhere though. On the Google maps there are several likely places in that area...

Good luck,

Jim

 

[LadyDigger]

Here's a newspaper article about an event that happened in Shady Rest....

Actually...he's a photo I found too...

In further reading....Price's wife, Ethel was shot 6 times at the mouth of the mine, which was located about 2 miles from where they lived...(don't know which direction though...doesn't state). She was found 5 months later under cart loads of debris.

Price was shot 13 times and found a month later in a field...he was a WWI Vet. He was driven 70 miles into Du Bois (Washington Co) and shot...that is where his body was found.

Another article states:

"...The "Birger Gang" operated from Birger's Roadhouse "SHADY REST", which is said to have been an armed fortress..."

Another talks about an air raid ....

"Marion, Ill, Nov 13...the thought was prompted by an airplane bombing raid yesterday on Shady Rest, Charles Birger's roadhouse, ten miles west of here..."

Another states it's between Harrisburg and Marion

Another....."....Investigators also disclosed that their information indicated "SHADY REST", Charles Birger's roadhouse on the Marion-Harrisburg state road..had been burned by Birger's own men!!"

Hope this info helps....good luck and hope you finds lots of awesome items!!! I'll see if I can locate anything on the mine mentioned.

 

[EdleBrock]

Cool, from your article, another indicator that it was located close to the road (old 13) was the presence of the Barbeque Stand...

With the explosions there has got to be lots of debris` around the area...

The Illinois DOT should have old highway maps that show the route of State 13 before any newer construction or re-routing took place.

Good luck, I'll bet you have a good chance of locating it...

Jim

 

[LadyDigger]

Here's an article, rather, ad...that mentions CARMAC MINES...think that could be the one that is in the Shady Rest area?

 

[LadyDigger]

Ok...sorry...here's one more of mines in the area....have fun!!!

 

[EdleBrock]

Ron and Ann, how do you find this stuff ? Those newspaper scans are a great resource.

Based on the discription of the location of the Sale in Post #4 and "triangulating" distances and directions I think you can make a WAG and assume the "Shady Rest" is located within the red circle I've outlined on Route 13 in the following picture. The text "turn on blacktop road just west of the old Shady Rest" makes me think that the light colored line within the red circle would be this "blacktop road"...it might not be "blacktop" anymore, but once a road grade is in place, they rarely disappear.

Anyway, it's hard to make any determination without being there, but that's my $0.02.

Hope it helps a little,

Jim

 

[LadyDigger]

Ron and Ann, how do you find this stuff ? Those newspaper scans are a great resource.

Based on the discription of the location of the Sale in Post #4 and "triangulating" distances and directions I think you can make a WAG and assume the "Shady Rest" is located within the red circle I've outlined on Route 13 in the following picture. The text "turn on blacktop road just west of the old Shady Rest" makes me think that the light colored line within the red circle would be this "blacktop road"...it might not be "blacktop" anymore, but once a road grade is in place, they rarely disappear.

Anyway, it's hard to make any determination without being there, but that's my $0.02.

Hope it helps a little,

Jim

Jim...researching is in my blood...I just love looking for things. I also have two paid subscriptions that give me access to many wonderful newspapers....it don't come cheap...but it's worth the wealth of info I am able to find. I love genealogy and these newspapers give me more data for my kids lineage. Just found my dau's second great mother in a newspaper article in California on this huge fish she caught...totally awesome!!! I wrote the newspaper to see if they would still have this photo on file ... as I want a copy!!!

Sometimes I get lucky, sometimes I don't....keywords are important too...but this thread...Shady Rest had loads of hits, mainly due to the write-ups of the Birgers!! And I get to learn more about history (which, ironically, I dispised in school LOL)

Great job on the map....also...a key to the map would be the location of the Carmac Mine...which Mrs. Price was found at the mouth of the mine, which was about 2 miles from her home....

I tried searching on Shady Rest prior to the bombing article...but nothing really came up

I like to go through the threads also and see if I can help others in locating places...and Shady Rest gave me some great hits....one thread talked about Emmaus Farm (PA)...but could not find anything

Roundhat...can't wait to see what you come up with...Best of luck to you!!!

 

[EdleBrock]

Ron and Ann,

I agree with you on the history, I've always been facinated. The internet has put it all at our fingertips...

In a previous post of yours of the Mine strike...there was a small note referencing the location of Shady Rest in relationship to the county line...I'll post a picture below.

Also, it appears that I may have made a mistake, that light colored line that intersects Route 13 that I circled in red is actually the remains of old Route 13...if you follow it West you run into Dykerburg Road. There are no other roads going South of old Route 13, so I'll make another WAG and say that Dykerburg Road is the "blacktop road" referenced above...I'm losing credibility with all these guesses, but roads, especially black top roads to not just disappear from the landscape. Also, further West old Route 13 is referenced as Shady Rest Road...

If Shady Rest was at the intersection of old 13 and Dykerburg it wouldn't quite fit with the "just inside the Williamson county line.". So, like I said just a WAG, but it should be able to be located if the newer road construction and re-route of 13 or Dykersburg didn't obliterate it.

Nice talking with you.

regards,

Jim

 

[roundhat]

i remember when i was a kid... before new 13 was put in... I recall seeing the area where my father said shady rest used to be... there was a small area with trees and I recall it was on the North side of old 13. at one point on old 13 they used to have a small tombstone on the edge of the road commemorating the death of Charlie Birger.... every year someone would push it over. It's odd that the price fellow mentioned was a Illinois State Trooper....because i am too... but i think he was in a little over his head with some dealings with Birger (just hearsay).

I have read alot of the same things off of the web that y'all have posted... excellent research and done very quickly... I wonder what i can find at the courthouse in Benton... Might be worth a look...interesting anyways. if the area hasn't been mined yet it would be cool to get in there with the DFX. There are also several books out about Charlie Birger and his gang. I need to read one of the books cover to cover....Just interesting all the way around.

 

[LadyDigger]

Well, as old timers would say...OVER YONDER and such...how far is OVER YONDER? A mile, 4 miles? So, inside the County Line....they weren't being really specific...

I'll see what else I can find in the newspapers...I was hoping to find some photos in the paper of Shady Rest or even the Carmac Mine...nothing yet

Also, where did the PRICE's live in relation to Charles Birger's ROADHOUSE? I would locate the Carmac Mine and do a 2 mile radius around it...should give you approx location of where the Price's lived.

Also, in one newspaper article...Lory L. Price was killed mainly because he supposedly called for higher authority regarding a bank robbery. Birger could not chance being caught.

Roundhat...also, I bet there are still some OLD TIMERS around that area that may remember that incident...1927 really isn't that far long...they could have been young kids when it happened. (ok..so they would be in their 80's / 90's now )

Also, did a bit of research on Lory Lee Price...found his WWI Draft Card Registration...he was born 13 September 1890 in Rock Castle, Kentucky. He was a Coal Miner for John A. Logan Coal Co on 5 June 1917, when he filled out his draft card. He was tall, with grey eyes and brown hair.

Could not find him on the Illinois 1920 census...but haven't checked on the 1920 Kentucky one yet. Could not locate Charles Birger on the 1920 census either

I was hoping to find something...it would give some indication of where they actually lived...well, sometimes it can

No sense of looking at the 1930 census, as both Price and Birger were both dead.

I would definitely hit up the court house....it holds lots of vital information. Even check with your local historical society and check out your local library. I know our library here has a genealogy section with lots of wonderful information and the Norfolk Courthouse holds many wonderful volumes of books (from arrests, the guardian bonds, to marriages and deaths)...

And look for old maps as well...I haven't been able to locate any where I sit

Please keep us posted on any progress and/or possible hunts you may do...that would be so interesting to see what you would find!!!

PS: here's the thread Gypsy did on Shady Rest: http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,125224.new.html#new

And here's Lory Lee Price's WWI Draft Card

 

[EdleBrock]

This is a great story with many so many twists is would make an interesting screen play.

It appears some of the locals revered Charles Birger as a "Knight"... He fought the KKK most likely not for racial reasons, but because they were pro-prohibition, which interferred with his booze running. There's rumors of him supporting the locals, food, heating fuel (coal) etc.. Almost a Robin Hood scenario, and ends up getting executed...at a carnival type atmosphere, he made the quote on the stand...'It's a beautiful world" - very Hollywoodish...

http://www.illinoishistory.com/birgerhanging.html

Good luck Roundhat, please post up your progress...

regards,

Jim

 

[roundhat]

Thought this might be interesting.




Trooper Lory L. Price
Illinois State Police
Illinois
End of Watch: Monday, January 17, 1927

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Monday, January 17, 1927
Weapon Used: Handgun; .45 caliber
Suspect Info: Executed

Trooper Lory Price and his wife were shot and killed by members of a gang for revenge against his police work. The two were abducted from their home and taken away in separate cars. Trooper Price's body was found two days later with 18 gunshot wounds. His wife's body was found four months later in the bottom of a mine shaft. The leader of the gang was sentenced to death and hung for another crime before he could be charged with Trooper Price's murder.

Machine guns were mounted on the church during Trooper Price's funeral as a security precaution in case the gangs attempted more harm during his funeral.

Trooper Price was a 13 year veteran of the Illinois State Police, assigned to District 13.

 

[EdleBrock]

More strange twists involving Birger and his association with Butch and Sundance...

http://www.prospector-utah.com/dill.htm

 

[EdleBrock]

Roundhat,

Man, you could make a career following up on this sequence of events. Here's a post from a Yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gangsterologists/message/236

Near Dubois, Washington County, Illinois, the body of Patrolman Lory
Price, was found by, Joe Waldman, a wheat farmer checking his fields
after a recent sleet storm.

In some weeds 75 ft. from the highway route 2., in a slowly melting drift
of snow, Lory's body was found.

His body was still wearing the uniform of the Illinois Highway
Patrolman, with his star still intact on his uniform. Some gruesome
facts, was that some animals had gnawed part of the exposed hand and
arm of their flesh from Lory Price's body.

This was the crime that , Charlie Birger, as the last man hung in
Illinois was for.

On trial for this horrible crime was also, Art Newman, and Freddie
Wooten.

I hope the following isn't too morbid...

I read that Price was shot somewhere around 18 times...with .45 ACP...if that's true, one or more of the rounds has to have passed through...there might just be some artifacts in that wheat field...

regards,

Jim

 

[EdleBrock]

Looks like I buggerd up the shooting of Lory Price. This is from the book World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime By Jay Robert Nash

http://books.google.com/books?id=RA...ts=gPscX13SET&sig=-OpHdDooVFDGiVG6HHNgFS_Cr1s

 

[Prairie Searcher]

Sorry folks, but the Shady Rest is no more. The area where it was was strip mined many years ago. It was definitely just North of Old route 13 and there was a marker at the side of the road. I'm not sure if you can get back to that spot anymore by car. It would have been a great place to to relic hunt and could have held some serious caches. Mike

 

[roundhat]

that's what i was afraid of. i went through the area a couple days ago and couldn't recognize a thing. the strip mining pretty much put an end to a piece of southern illinois history..

 

[EdleBrock]

Not to bring this up again, but here's a picture of the patrolman Lory Price and his wife Ethel, both murdered by the Birger gang...I can't remember what site I got this from last year, but it's been on my Desktop since then, just never got around to posting it at the time. Still a great piece of local history.

regards,

Jim

 

[roundhat]

i posted one pic from the officer down website. thanks for posting this one... seems more personal.