Kaskaskia, named after the Indians who inhabited the area, was settled by the French in 1703.

Jessica Foote
All Saints Academy, Breese

America has often been called "The Land of Opportunity." The opportunity for religious freedom and prosperity brought curious and hopeful settlers to this new land. These settlers explored uncharted territories referred to as frontiers. As adventurous newcomers moved west, one frontier after another was explored and new communities began. One such frontier town was Kaskaskia in Illinois.

Kaskaskia, named after the Kaskaskia Indians, was settled by the French in 1703. The French and the Indians became allies and friends. Some French traders married into the tribe. Land was cleared and houses were built along the river. These first houses, built closely together, were made of wood and stone. A clay and grass mixture was used to fill in gaps. The sloped roofs were made of straw or grass. Most houses had a porch and each had a flower garden. By 1722 Kaskaskia grew to a population of nearly two hundred. The inhabitants of Kaskaskia appeared to be happy. John Reynolds, an important political figure and Illinois historian, described the French as "agreeable, devout, happy, taking much pleasure from daily life without great concern for the future."

Kaskaskia was an area rich in natural resources. The vast forests included a variety of trees that were used for lumber. Fruit trees provided ingredients for jellies. Grape vines and berries were plentiful. Ducks, pigeons, turkeys, buffalo, deer, bear, and foxes were sources of meat for the settlers. Kaskaskia soon became a commercial center for trading. Flat-bottom boats transported goods to and from New Orleans. The colonists enjoyed a prosperous life, at least for a while.

However, as new territories were formed in the American frontier, disputes over boundary lines developed between the French and the English. These disputes led to the French and Indian War. When peace was declared in 1763, the British had taken over some of the French territories. The French lost control of Kaskaskia to the British in 1765.

Although the thirteen years under British rule seemed uneventful, another war was on the horizon. The huge debt from the French and British conflicts had to be paid, causing more and more taxes to be levied on the colonists. Angry over these new taxes, citizens rebelled and the Revolutionary War began. In 1779 the American militia led by George Rogers Clark finally secured Kaskaskia as an American territory.

Kaskaskia remained a business center. When Illinois became a state on December 3, 1818, Kaskaskia was chosen as the state capital. The Illinois Herald, the first newspaper in Illinois, was published in Kaskaskia, and the first Governor of Illinois, Shadrach Bond, came from Kaskaskia.

When the state capital was moved from Kaskaskia to Vandalia in 1820, many of the citizens also moved to the new location of the state capital. But it was the flood of 1881 that most dramatically changed Kaskaskia. The Mississippi River overflowed and joined the Kaskaskia River, putting much of the village under water. Eventually water surrounded Kaskaskia, making what was left of it the island of Kaskaskia.

The people of Kaskaskia lost most of their treasured items in the flood, including the church they named after French missionary Father Marquette. A new church, again bearing Father Marquette's name, was built to replace it. Some of the furnishings of the original church, including a marble altar stone, candlesticks, and statues of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary, were recovered and can still be seen in the little church on Kaskaskia Island.— [From Natalie Belting, Kaskaskia Under the French Regime; Francis L. Blatchford and Lila W. Erminger, Illinois Grows Up; Solon Buck, Illinois in 1818; "Kaskaskia," Stories of Historic Illinois.]

5 ILLINOIS HISTORY / DECEMBER 2000