Oakdale, Illinois

By Roger Kemps ©

Oakdale is a small town in Southern Illinois in Washington County. It is about 10 miles Southwest of Nashville, Illinois (the County Seat) and about 57 miles Southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Oakdale is located in what is presently called Oakdale Township (after 1883, previously called Elkton Township and also described as T3S, R4W). It is located along the Kaskaskia & Detroit Trail that was created by the French about 1705. For a description of other trails that passed through the area, see “History of Oakdale Township” pages 2 & 3. For an old picture of the Post Office, see this link.

The McClurken side of my family came to Oakdale Township from Chester County, South Carolina in 1830. The Kemps side of my family came to Oakdale Township from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania about 1862.

A very interesting historical reference is the "History of Oakdale Township" at this link. It includes many references to various McClurken and Kemps family members.

For area maps, see:

Oakdale_Township_Survey_6_16_1814.jpg

Oakdale_Township_Survey_3_11_1834.jpg

Washington County in Southern Illinois

Washington County

Washington County Townships

Mixed Washington County Maps

Websites with additional Oakdale information:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Oakdale-Illinois.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakdale,_Illinois

http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=263933

http://www.illinois.com/city.php?cityFips=1754586

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=62268

http://www.topix.com/city/oakdale-il

Kaskaskia & Detroit Trail History:

http://books.google.com/books?id=0P40AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=Kaskaskia+%26+Detroit+Trail&source=web&ots=cZ1gkyk75Z&sig=LhNkgL36oZKVBoTg-w_MdBqNyiE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

Map of the Kaskaskia & Detroit Trail and other early Illinois trails

Last update 9/15/09