Visitors Guide to Thebes
Alexander County, Illinois
Thebes Courthouse
The historic town of Thebes lies on the banks of the Mississippi River about 40 miles north of Cairo by way of the river. It lies mostly on high hilly land. The area was once known as “Spar Hawk’s Nest” or “Spar Hawks Landing after two brothers named Spar Hawk who settled here. The brothers would cut down poplar trees and float them down to New Orleans to be used ship gunnels for keelboats. The manufacturers sent up the river to harvest the trees and these men brought their families making the beginning of a settlement. The town was platted in 1846 and given the classic Egyptian names of Thebes, helping give the region the nickname of Little Egypt. Before Cairo was a city of any importance Thebes was the county seat of Alexander County. The first term of court was held under a large elm tree in 1845. Construction of a log courthouse began in 1846 and was completed in 1848. Legend says Scott was imprisoned for one night in the in the dungeons below. Dred Scott was a slave whose eleven-year legal fight ended with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that Scott was still a slave, which preceded the Civil War. Local lore also says that Abraham Lincoln made a campaign speech at the courthouse. This courthouse was the county seat of Alexander County until 1884 when the county seat was moved to Cairo and still stands today overlooking the Mississippi River.
