NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES SURVEYED

Salute to three flogs over Ft. Chartres located near Prairie du Rocher, south of St. Louis near Mississippi River. (This was the center of French culture about 1720).

The National Historic Sites Survey commission in Illinois is spending the first year of its commission in a survey of the historic, architectural and archaeological sites in Illinois. Upon completion of the survey, recommendations will be made to the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council for nomination of sites for the National Register of Historic Sites.

Only after sites have been nominated and been accepted for the National Register do funds become available for acquisition and restoration of individual properties. The initial grants may be used for statewide survey, the preparation of statewide historic plans and then the acquisition and restoration of individual properties.

To qualify for aid, properties must be listed in the National Register, be consistent with a statewide historic preservation plan approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and need financial assistance or be owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Among the Illinois sites already included in the National Register are Bishop Hill, all of the old Historic District; Galena, the Galena Historic District including the Old Market House and Coatesworth Building with a separate listing for U. S. Grant's Home; Ottawa, Starved Rock in Starved Rock State Park; Ellis Grove, the Pierre Menard house in Fort Kaskaskia State Park; Prairie du Rocher, Fort de Chartres State Park; Springfield, the Lincoln Home and Tomb, and Metropolis, Fort Massac.

The State Liaison Officer, Henry N. Barkhausen, Director of the Department of Conservation, directs the state of Illinois grant-in-aid program, its historical surveys, and its preservation planning. The direct supervision of the survey is being conducted by Daniel Malkovich, 320 South Main Street, Benton, Ill.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 5 January/February, 1972