Halfway, Illinois (Little Juarez)

The name originated because it was about halfway between Marion and Herrin, located a few miles to the west on what is now a county highway (Stotlar Road).

One of the earliest references to the community dates to September 1916 when the circuit judge, D. T. Hartwell, issued an injunction against 31 saloons and clubs in nearby Herrin restraining them from "selling intoxicating liquors of any kind."

"For nearly a year, the lone building [Birger's joint] stood alone on the state concrete highway but nothing now remains but weeds, charred wood and broken bottles."

Before the fires and the raids, "saloons, dance floors, restaurants and sleeping rooms made up the settlement."

According to testimony at the coroner's inquest, Hill ran a craps game in the roadhouse on the southeast corner of the crossroads.

[6] Other rumors that circulated the following year pegged Doering's death on Birger's bodyguard and bartender that night, Jack "Hoghead" Davis.