Cave-In-Rock, Illinois

Cave-In-Rock
Main Street of downtown Cave-In-Rock, Illinois in 2013
Location of Cave-In-Rock in Hardin County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 37°28′12″N 88°9′59″W / 37.47000°N 88.16639°W / 37.47000; -88.16639
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyHardin
Founded byEarliest known permanent settlers arrived in 1816
Named afterThe Cave near the town
Area
  Total
0.41 sq mi (1.07 km2)
  Land0.37 sq mi (0.97 km2)
  Water0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)
Elevation
390 ft (120 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
228
  Density609.63/sq mi (235.65/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
  Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)
62919
Area code618
FIPS code17-11826
GNIS feature ID2397577
Wikimedia CommonsCave-In-Rock, Illinois

Cave-In-Rock is a village in Hardin County, Illinois, United States. Its principal feature and tourist attraction is nearby Cave-In-Rock, on the banks of the Ohio River. In 1816, the earliest known permanent white settlers arrived and started building a town near the cave. The town was originally known as Rock and Cave, Illinois, with a post office under this name. On October 24, 1849, the town was officially renamed Cave-In-Rock. Cave-In-Rock was incorporated as a village in 1901. The population was 228 at the 2020 census.

Beginning in the 1790s, Cave-in-Rock became a refuge stronghold for frontier outlaws, on the run from the law which included river pirates and highwaymen Samuel Mason and James Ford, tavern owner/highwayman Isaiah L. Potts, serial killers/bandits the Harpe brothers, counterfeiters Philip Alston, Peter Alston, John Duff, Eson Bixby, and the Sturdivant Gang, and the post-American Civil War bandit, Logan Belt.