The Ohio River Scenic Byway follows the Ohio River through southern Illinois, linking natural landscapes, historic communities, and sites that reflect the river’s importance to the region, the nation, and the world. Along the route, Cairo stands at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and features a historic district with notable architecture including the Custom House and Museum, Magnolia Manor, Riverlore Mansion, and the Safford Memorial Library. Mound City National Cemetery, established in 1864, remains a national military cemetery with Civil War-era tombstones, the Illinois State Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and a caretaker’s cottage on the National Register of Historic Places that serves as a museum. Metropolis includes the nation’s largest Superman Festival, murals of local history, a lighthouse, a floating casino, and Fort Massac State Park, where a reconstructed Lewis and Clark era fort, visitor center, trails, encampments, and reenactments connect visitors to the past. Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site, the byway’s most significant prehistoric site, was occupied from 1050-1400 A.D. and preserves man-made hills that supported homes, temples, and buildings from which the Chief reigned. Golconda includes buildings on the National Register of Historic Places within the Golconda Historic District, the historic Lockmaster Homes, and a commemoration of the Cherokee Trail of Tears entering Illinois there. Rosiclare is home to the Miners Memorial, a river walk, and the American Fluorite Museum and lies at the heart of fluorite country. Elizabethtown preserves the charm of a river town with river views, historic hotels, amenities, and a floating restaurant. Cave-In-Rock State Park is a natural wonder with a long and colorful history, and its ferry still provides free service between Illinois and Kentucky. The Garden of the Gods in Shawnee National Forest is a southern Illinois landmark in a forest that offers recreation and contains Illinois’ only federally designated Wilderness Area. Equality serves as the northern gateway to the route and is home to the Ohio River Visitor Center, where regional history, local arts, crafts, and amenities are presented. Old Shawneetown was devastated by the Ohio River flood of 1937, after which most of the town moved to create Shawneetown; remaining structures include the John Marshall house, Illinois’ first bank, now a museum, and the Shawneetown Bank, while Shawneetown has a monument to the region’s African-American history.