In 1816 the Reverend James McGready of Kentucky organized Sharon, the first Presbyterian church in Illinois, with Peter Miller, James Mayes and James Rutledge as ruling elders. Three miles northeast of this site B.F. Spilman, active Presbyterian . . . — — Map (db m154623) HM
The first trading post was established here in 1830 by James Gray and Robert Walden. A post office was opened here in 1836. Later, a two-story frame building was erected here by the Empire Milling Company and this corner was known as 'Empire . . . — — Map (db m61809) HM
This building was erected in 1895 by the Gray Family for their Gray Bank on the bottom floor and the Gray Opera house on the second floor. The Opera House was the center of entertainment for many years. — — Map (db m61785) HM
In the 1830's, James Gray's Stables and Slave Quarters were located here. Later, he donated the barn to the city to use as a city hall and police station. In 1866, the city built a two story building with a jail in the basement. The second story was . . . — — Map (db m61788) HM
The first Presbyterian Church in Grayville was organized in 1850 under the leadership of Mrs. Thomasann Gray. In 1868 the members built a small wooden Church on this corner of the cemetery, a gift from a member of the Gray Family.
It was . . . — — Map (db m61781) HM
Established by James R. Gray
First Internment - 1831
Obelisk Erected - 1901
Church Plaza Constructed - 2005
Memorial Plaza and Fountain Dedicated - 2007 — — Map (db m61782) HM
On this site was the home of Thomasanne Payne, Authoress of the Song 'Sleep Soldier Sleep' which she wrote in honor of James Bethel Gresham from Evansville, Indiana. He was the first American Soldier to die in World War I. The song was accepted . . . — — Map (db m61784) HM WM
Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and entry of the United States into World War II, 95 percent of the crude oil delivered to east coast oil refineries was transported by tanker ships with 90 percent of that oil from Texas oil . . . — — Map (db m154609) HM