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45-603: Admitted to the Union in 1818, Illinois quickly abandoned its first governmental center of Kaskaskia in 1820 due to environmental threats. A second statehouse was built of lumber at the new capital of Vandalia, but it burned down after three years in 1823. The third capitol building was hastily built in 1824 and was the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's political career as a member of the Illinois General Assembly in 1834. Elected from Sangamon County , closer to

90-525: A fur trading post in the village. Canadien settlers moved in to farm and to exploit the lead mines on the opposite side of the river (now in Missouri ). Favorably situated on a peninsula on the east side of the Mississippi River, Kaskaskia became a large settlement center attracting a large proportion of the region's Native American population. It became the capital of Upper Louisiana and

135-545: A Missouri ZIP Code (63673). Its roads are maintained by Illinois Department of Transportation, and its few residents vote in Illinois elections. The town was evacuated in the Great Flood of 1993 , which covered it with water more than 9 ft (3 m) deep. The site of Kaskaskia near the Mississippi River was long inhabited by varying Native American indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The Kaskaskia , part of

180-538: A house on a lot of "no more than one hundred acres" for Jean Baptiste Ducoigne and that a "suitable sum" of all material and monetary payments to the tribe would be reserved for the chief and his family. This treaty was said to "rightfully represent" not only the Kaskaskia tribe but also the Cahokia, Mitchigamia, and Tamarois, though the signatures for those tribes were not made by chiefs and were marked only with 'X' and

225-402: A notation of the individual's name, one of which was noted as "Micolas or Nicolas". In exchange for ceding a tract of land comprising approximately half the area of modern-day Illinois, the Kaskaskia and associated tribes were allotted three hundred fifty acres "near the town of Kaskaskia", as well as the right to relocate to another larger settlement within the ceded territory. As a center of

270-416: A similar style nearby to house the "liberty bell". By 1950, only 112 people lived in Kaskaskia. By 1970, the population had fallen to 79, and it continued to decline to 33 in 1980. The town was submerged under nine feet of water by the Great Flood of 1993 , which reached the roofs of the buildings. By 2000, with nine residents, Kaskaskia was almost a ghost town , the least populous incorporated community in

315-544: Is a tributary of the Mississippi River , approximately 325 miles (523 km) long, in central and southern Illinois in the United States. The second largest river system within Illinois, it drains a rural area of farms, as well as rolling hills along river bottoms of hardwood forests in its lower reaches. The lower reaches of the river have been canalized to allow barge traffic. In 1819, Vandalia up

360-749: Is a village in Randolph County, Illinois . Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country . It was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population peaked at about 7,000 in the 18th century, when it was a regional center. During the American Revolutionary War , the town, which by then had become an administrative center for the British Province of Quebec ,

405-559: The Illiniwek peoples, colonized this area in the 1600s, and lived there at the time of European encounter and traded with the early French colonists. Historically this name was referred to with many spelling variations, as Kasklas, Kaskasky, Cas-caskias, Kasquskias, and Kaskaskias. During the Beaver Wars , Kaskaskia grew as people sought common defense against Iroquois raids. The numbers swelled to around twenty thousand people by

450-420: The geographic center of Illinois, Lincoln led a central Illinois caucus that called for the state government to move itself to the growing town of Springfield . By the beginning of 1836, the building was structurally unsafe to the point that local assemblies refused to convene in it. In response, some townsmen wrote the then governor of Illinois Joseph Duncan about the situation, who informed them to see if

495-534: The 1680s. Kaskaskia aligned with the French to aid in defense against the Iroquois. The French also gave them trade goods, which Kaskaskia merchants used to trade with nations too far South or West for French traders to reach. Kaskaskia became heavily involved in the slave trade, capturing and selling people from neighboring nations. By the 1690s, Kaskaskia was in decline. This was in part due to an epidemic that hit

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540-548: The 19th century, the river joined the Mississippi at Chester. Deforestation of river banks of the Mississippi and tributaries to fuel the hundreds of steamboats that plied the river had several significant environmental effects: destabilizing the banks, causing the Mississippi to become wider and more shallow, causing more severe flooding and leading to lateral channel changes in the American Bottoms area. In

585-456: The French built Fort de Chartres nearby in 1718. In the same year they imported the first enslaved Africans , shipped from Santo Domingo in the Caribbean, to work as laborers in the lead mines . In the years of early French settlement, Kaskaskia was a multicultural village, consisting of a few French men and numerous Illinois and other American Indians . In 1707, the population of

630-643: The French ceded the Illinois country, including Kaskaskia and the redoubt, to Great Britain after being defeated in the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War on the North American front). The British did not use the redoubt but from 1766 through 1772, maintained a rotating detachment of around 25 men under a junior officer, from Fort de Chartres. They used the Jesuit compound as their base. Rather than live under British rule after France ceded

675-501: The Gulf climate. Farmers shipped tons of flour south over the years, which helped New Orleans survive. The French settlers raised Fort Kaskaskia around 1759; the fort stood atop the bluff that overlooked the frontier village.[1] "Fort Kaskaskia" is not technically a "fort", but an earthen redoubt. Frontier settlers throughout Woodland North America often built such redoubts for defense during times of threat from Native Americans. In 1763,

720-468: The Kaskaskia people, for whom the town is named, signed a treaty with the United States of America, arranged by future president William Henry Harrison , who was at that time governor of the Indiana territory , and Kaskaskia chief Jean Baptiste Ducoigne. Ducoigne was of mixed descent, noted for being friendly with the United States and being hated by other tribal chiefs. The treaty specifically provides for

765-500: The Mississippi River. The flood of 1881 destroyed all remnants of the original town and the Mississippi shifted into the channel of the Kaskaskia River , passing east instead of west of the town. Parts of the town were rebuilt in the new area. As the Mississippi continued to flow through its new bed, earth was deposited so that the village land became physically attached to the west bank of the river, which primarily lies within

810-597: The Mississippi from the north approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Chester and 40 miles (64 km) south-southeast of St. Louis, Missouri . The watershed of the river encompasses approximately 5,746 square miles (14,880 km ), approximately 10.2% of the state of Illinois. The Kaskaskia is impounded in Shelby County to form Lake Shelbyville . It is also impounded in Clinton County southwest of Vandalia to form Carlyle Lake . For most of

855-473: The Mississippi. Kaskaskia Precinct has a land area of 24.037 sq mi (62.256 km ) and a 2020 census population of 31 people. In 1993 the Mississippi River almost completely flooded the island. As of the census of 2000, there were 9 people, 4 households, and 3 families residing in the village. The population density was 83.0/sq mi (32.0/km ). There were 5 housing units at an average density of 46.1/sq mi (17.8/km ). The racial makeup of

900-562: The Vandalia State House State Memorial, and an extensive interior refitting and reconstruction program began. In 1985, the building became a State Historic Site within the new Illinois Historic Preservation Agency , which maintains the old state house and interprets it to its brief time as Illinois's fourth capitol building in 1836-39. Guided tours are offered, and visitors can also view the period rooms independently. Kaskaskia, Illinois Kaskaskia

945-470: The aftermath of a major 1881 flood, the Mississippi changed its channel and moved east to flow along the lower 10 miles (16 km) of the channel of the Kaskaskia, shifting the confluence 10 miles north. As a result, a small portion of Illinois, including the former capital, Kaskaskia , was cut off from Illinois when the river moved to its east side. It is now located on the west side of the Mississippi. The community of Kaskaskia can now only be reached from

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990-530: The boundaries of the state of Missouri . Now a bayou , the old channel is regularly flooded by the river. A small bridge carries traffic from the mainland over the bayou to Kaskaskia and its surrounding farmlands in the floodplain. A levee lines the river to the east. In 1893 the people of the town moved and rebuilt the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Kaskaskia. They also built a shrine in

1035-423: The building could be repaired. After further examination of the cracked walls and sinking floor, a decision was made to tear down and rebuild a new statehouse. Construction took about four months from various regional companies and laborers. The new brick statehouse was unpainted, featuring a gable roof and a cupola , and cost $ 16,000. The new building was intentionally built with larger state office quarters, as it

1080-520: The capital was moved in 1819 to Vandalia . Although the introduction of steamboats on the Mississippi River stimulated the economies of river towns, in the 19th century, their use also had devastating environmental effects. Deforestation of the river banks followed steamboat crews' regular cutting of trees, which were used to feed the engine boiler fires as fuel to power the steamboats. Through this rapid, man-made erosion , river banks became unstable, resulting in massive amounts of soil to collapse into

1125-512: The capital was moved to more centrally located Vandalia . Most of the town was destroyed in April 1881 by flooding, as the Mississippi River shifted eastward to a new channel, taking over the lower 10 mi (16 km) of the Kaskaskia River . This resulted from deforestation of the river banks during the 19th century, due to crews taking wood for fuel to feed the steamboat and railroad traffic. The river now passes east rather than west of

1170-400: The city fell on July 4, 1778, to George Rogers Clark and his force of 200 men, including Captains Joseph Bowman and Leonard Helm . The parish rang the church bell in celebration, and it has since been called the "liberty bell". The brick church, built in 1843 in the squared-off French style, was later moved to the restored village of Kaskaskia on the west side of the Mississippi. In 1803,

1215-635: The community was estimated at 2,200, the majority of them Illinois who lived somewhat apart from the Europeans. Writing of Kaskaskia about 1715, a visitor said that the village consisted of 400 Illinois men, "good people"; two Jesuit missionaries, and "about twenty French voyageurs who have settled there and married Indian women." Of 21 children whose birth and baptism was recorded in Kaskaskia before 1714, 18 had mothers who were Indian and 20 had fathers who were French. One devout Catholic, full-blooded Indian woman disowned her mixed-race son for living "among

1260-524: The expedition of Claude Charles Du Tisne to establish trade relations with the Plains Indians in 1719. King Louis XV sent a bell to Kaskaskia in 1741 for its church, one of several constructed there. During the years of French rule, Kaskaskia and the other agricultural settlements in the Illinois Country were critical for supplying Lower Louisiana , especially New Orleans , with wheat and corn , as these staple crops could not be grown in

1305-571: The flowing water. In 1832, during the era of Indian removal , the Peoria tribe, speaking for Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Mitchigamia, and Tamarois, signed a second treaty. This treaty was arranged by Superintendent of Indian Affairs William Clark , who was at that same time a figurehead in the implementation of the Indian Removal Act , associated with the Trail of Tears further south. The treaty

1350-571: The large town particularly hard. By this time, it had also become harder to obtain sources of wood and bison near Kaskaskia. The Great Peace of Montreal in 1701, which ended the Beaver Wars, also reduced the need for mutual defense. In 1703, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission with the goal of converting the Native Americans to Catholicism . The congregation built its first stone church in 1714. The French also had

1395-423: The late 19th century, the town was cut off from the Illinois mainland and mostly destroyed by repeated flooding and a channel change by the Mississippi River. Much of the former property of Kaskaskia and other French colonial towns on the river has been lost. Following the Great Flood of 1844 , residents of Kaskaskia relocated the town to the south. The original location of Kaskaskia became an island, surrounded by

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1440-478: The regional economy, Kaskaskia served as the capital of Illinois Territory from 1809 until statehood was gained in 1818, and then as the state capital until 1819. The first Illinois newspaper, the Illinois Herald , was published here on June 24, 1814. In 1818 it was the site of the state's first constitutional convention and first legislative session . The city's peak population was about 7,000, before

1485-431: The river in the interior of the then new state of Illinois was chosen as its capital, which it served as until 1839. "Cascasquia" is an alternative, supposedly more French, spelling of "Kaskaskia" that is sometimes encountered. It was named after a clan of the Illiniwek encountered by the early French Jesuits and other settlers. "Okaw River" was an alternative name for the Kaskaskia that persists in place names along

1530-488: The river, including Okawville , and in a major tributary, the West Okaw River . The Kaskaskia rises in east central Illinois in several farm ditches along the west side of Champaign . The headwaters of the river is just north of Interstate 74 , where it is marked with a sign. The river flows south across rural Champaign and Douglas counties, then southwest across southern Illinois, past Vandalia . It joins

1575-701: The savage nations". Many of the Canadiens and their descendants at Kaskaskia became voyageurs and coureurs des bois , who would explore and exploit the Missouri River country for fur trading. The Canadiens had the goal of trading with all the Prairie tribes, and beyond them, with the Spanish colony in New Mexico . The Spanish intended to keep control of the latter trade. The Canadien goals stimulated

1620-544: The sixth and current Illinois State Capitol . The State of Illinois gave the Vandalia State House to Fayette County for use as the county courthouse . Porticoes were added to the courthouse in the late 1850s, which made the building a structure in the Greek Revival style. The building served as a courthouse between 1839 and 1933, when it reverted to the state. In 1933, the old courthouse became

1665-401: The state of Illinois. Kaskaskia is located at 37°55′17″N 89°54′59″W  /  37.921395°N 89.916467°W  / 37.921395; -89.916467 . According to the 2010 census, Kaskaskia has a total area of 0.11 square miles (0.28 km ), all land. However, the village comprises only a small part of Kaskaskia Precinct , which includes all of Randolph County's land west of

1710-550: The territory east of the river, many French-speaking people from Kaskaskia and other colonial towns moved west of the Mississippi to Ste. Genevieve , St. Louis , and other areas. In May 1772, when the British abandoned Fort de Chartres, Kaskaskia continued to survive as a primarily French-speaking village on the Mississippi River frontier. During one of the westernmost military campaigns of the American Revolution ,

1755-435: The town. The state boundary line, however, remained in its original location. A small bridge crosses the old riverbed, now a creek that is sometimes filled with water during flood season. In the 2020 United States Census the population was 21, making it the third-least populous incorporated community in Illinois behind Valley City (pop. 14) and Florence (pop. 17). Kaskaskia has an Illinois telephone area code (618) and

1800-523: The tribe in the 1803 treaty with the exception of 350 acres near the town of Kaskaskia, Illinois, reserved to Ellen Ducoigne, a daughter of Jean Baptiste Ducoigne who had married a white man. All other members of all five tribes mentioned in the treaty were relocated to Indian Country in modern-day Kansas . From St. Louis to the confluence of the Ohio River , the Mississippi became wider and more shallow, resulting in more severe seasonal flooding. In

1845-419: The village was 7 White , 1 Pacific Islander , 1 from other races . There were 2 Hispanics or Latinos of any race. There were four households, none of which had children under the age of 18 living with them. Two were married couples living together, one had a female householder with no husband present, and one was a non-family. One household was made up of individuals, and one had someone living alone who

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1890-434: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.67. In the village two people were under the age of 18, both girls. There was one person from 18 to 24, one from 25 to 44, two from 45 to 64, and three who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. There were seven females and two males. Kaskaskia River Download coordinates as: The Kaskaskia River

1935-604: Was deemed more important than the moving of the capitol. When Lincoln and his colleagues returned to Vandalia in the fall of 1836, they saw the new "State House" waiting for them. In February 1837, the legislature voted to move the governmental center to the more populous town of Springfield. The fifth Illinois capitol, the Old State Capitol State Historic Site located in Springfield, was used from 1839 to 1876. It has since been replaced by

1980-639: Was signed two months after the end of the Black Hawk War in northwestern Illinois, between the Sauk tribe and the United States. The Sauk disputed the validity of a treaty similar to the Kaskaskia treaty of 1803, arranged by William Henry Harrison in 1804. The Sauk lost the Black Hawk War, resulting in the death of half of the Sauk forces. The Kaskaskia treaty of 1832 relinquished all lands reserved for

2025-615: Was taken by the Virginia militia during the Illinois campaign . It was designated as the county seat of Illinois County, Virginia , after which it became part of the Northwest Territory in 1787. Kaskaskia was later named as the capital of the United States' Illinois Territory , created on February 3, 1809. In 1818, when Illinois became the 21st U.S. state, the town briefly served as the state's first capital until 1819, when

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