Junction

History

Junction was founded in the 1880s, and was named for its location at the junction of the L&N and B&O railroads. When a post office was established in 1884, it was named "Cypress Junction." The name was changed to "Junction City" in 1888, and shortened to "Junction" in 1894. Junction's location in a relatively flat area leaves it prone to flooding along the Ohio River, which can cause waters in the nearby Saline River to back up. A major flood in March 1997 displaced several area residents and blocked all but one road leading into the village. On June 1, 2022, Junction General Baptist Church burned down after lightning struck the steeple. The Hickory Hill mansion, almost five miles west of Junction, is the 19th-century home of illegal slave trader and slave breeder John Hart Crenshaw. It was infamously known as the "Old Slave House," as it was used as a criminal front for the kidnapping of free blacks who were illegally sold into the Southern slave trade on the Reverse Underground Railroad, as well as a farm for slave breeding.

Geography

Junction is located at the center of Gallatin County. The village lies along Illinois Route 13, a few miles west of the Ohio River, and north of the Shawnee National Forest. The Saline River, a tributary of the Ohio, passes just to the south. According to the 2010 census, Junction has a total area of , of which (or 99.66%) is land and (or 0.34%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  514
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  478
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  469
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  439
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  431
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  416
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  415
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  400

Largest nearby schools

• Gallatin Elementary School
  Elementary · Junction · 288 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Gallatin High School
  High · Junction · 215 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• Gallatin Junior High School
  Middle · Junction · 201 students · 12.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.51 — 2026-06-29
  6 km NE of West Salem, Illinois
• M 2.58 — 2025-08-09
  2 km ESE of Cynthiana, Indiana
• M 3.07 — 2023-12-18
  5 km WNW of Waltonville, Illinois
• M 2.52 — 2023-06-03
  7 km N of Nebo, Kentucky
• M 2.51 — 2023-05-30
  7 km W of Calhoun, Kentucky
• M 3.03 — 2023-05-30
  6 km W of Calhoun, Kentucky