Dr. Andrew Springs, a Fisk University graduate, settled and practice in the tiny town of Dewmaine, Illinois in Williamson County. He arrived in Dewmaine in 1917, and became a community leader throughout the 1920s and 30s. Dewmaine was an African-American town during an era of enforced segregation in southern Illinois.

The townspeople were industrious, building a two-story school building, post office, general store, and four churches during Dewmaine’s heyday. Alas, the place where Dewmaine once stood is now a ghost town, with only the cemetery left to bear witness to what must have been a lively and fascinating place in our history.

For more information on this story, see this very informative article by Mary Beth Roderick. http://thesouthern.com/news/local/ghost-town-the-rise-and-fall-of-dewmaine/article_858950f4-1333-11e1-9e3b-001cc4c002e0.html