Ewington was the original county seat of Effingham County and in its hey-day the town boasted 200 residents, several shops, taverns, a school, a doctor's office, a blacksmith and, of course, the county courthouse. In 1860 the Illinois Central Railroad was built and the county seat was moved to Effingham which, at that time, was smaller than Ewington. Practically the entire population of Ewington pulled up stakes and moved the three miles down the road to Effingham and most of the wooden buildings of the town were dragged with them.
One of the only brick structures in town the old county courthouse remained in Ewington and in the county's possession. In 1862 the county board of supervisors voted to turn the old Ewington courthouse into the county's first Poor House. The Effingham County Poor House / Poor Farm stayed at Ewington until the 1890's when the poor farm was moved. Tha paupers that lived at the poor farm / poor house were for all instances indentured slaves who had legally sold themselves to the poor farm. (See the whole story at http://goo.gl/PI9ZeB).
The cemetery has many old graves including civil war veterans from both USA and CSA armies and one revolutionary war verteran - Charles Moore (see http://goo.gl/jV1a6x) Placing the cache I came across a rarity for this part of the country - a grave with a date in the 1700's - Amos DuHamel was born in 1793 and died 1873. The census shows he was living in Effingham in 1870 but since he is buried here I would guess he was one of the 200 residents that packed up and moved house and all down the road to Effingham.