Not necessarily. The Wabash River forms part of the boundary between Illinois and Indiana, so if it was composed by a local, s/he could have been an Illinoisan. Though actually it could have been written by anybody from anywhere.

I toyed with the idea that "hell" might mean a wild party, but apparently it doesn't. So what could "Hell on the Wabash" mean? All I can guess is that somebody was travelling down the river and there was a flood.

I came across that tune accidentally one day, and despite its hellish name, it's a charmer, old-fashioned sounding even for a old tune. I pencilled in "Helena Warbanks" as a more fitting title.

If you want to play it, it is at abcnotation.com as "Hell on the Wabash" version no. 6.