Todd Carr will present The Shawnee National Forest on February 22, 2019, @ 2:00 pm, as part of the HAHS guest lecture series.   He will discuss the work of visionary newspaperman L. O. Trigg whose Ozark Tours led to the eventual creation of the Shawnee National Forest.

Beginning in 1931, Trigg’s annual Trails, Tours, and Detours excursion demonstrated the potential for outdoor recreation in southernmost Illinois. Carr’s book, Trigg’s Ozark Tours at Shawnee National Forest, published in 2017, chronicles the story of the Ozark Tours through 1930s and 1940s photographs.

Tapping the extensive Trigg Collection of photographs, Carr has masterfully edited the most pertinent images of L. O. Trigg’s life and times. Photos of tours visiting Garden of the Gods, Giant City, Bell Smith Springs, and other popular spots of natural beauty illustrate Trigg’s efforts in promoting and preserving these areas.

Todd Carr is president of the Hardin County Historical and Genealogical Society. He has promoted tourism in Southern Illinois for over twenty years, and he has partnered with historical societies, tourism officials, and the Shawnee National Forest to return the Trigg Ozark Tours to southern Illinois. He is the Quality Director of the Hardin County General Hospital, and he lives in Elizabethtown with his wife and three daughters.

This event is part of the Herrin Area Historical Society’s Guest Lecture series, and it is free and open to the public. Details at 618-727-0432.