 |
|
|
Thy Wondrous Story, Illinois
Vincennes,
IL ,
USA
|
|
Illinois State
Historical Marker
|
| |
| |
The fertile prairies in Illinois attracted the attention of French trader Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette as they explored the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in 1673. France claimed this region until 1763 when she surrendered it to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris. During the American Revolution George Rogers Clark and his small army scored a bloodless victory when they captured Kaskaskia for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Illinois became in turn a part of the Northwest Territory and the Indiana and Illinois Territories. On December 3, 1818, Illinois entered the Union as the twenty-first state. On Dubois Hill nearby, an advanced prehistoric Indian group, the Riverton Culture, had a settlement from 1500 to 1000 B.C. They lived in semi-permanent settlements here and at two other known sites ten and twenty miles to the north on the Wabash River. They stayed in the settlements during bad weather and stored crops which they had raised here. Toussaint Dubois settled on the hill about 1807. He was a well-known fur trader in partnership with Pierre Menard, first Illinois Lieutenant Governor, and owned some 4500 acres of land including the site of Lawrenceville. His son, Jesse K. Dubois, was a prominent office holder and was State Auditor from 1857 to 1864. Jesse K. was a close personal friend of Abraham Lincoln from 1834 until Lincoln's death. Lincoln campaigned in this area in 1856 upon his invitation.
Last updated: 2/14/2015 15:17:00 |
|
|
| |
|
Related Themes: C.S.A., Confederate States of America, Confederacy, Union, American Revolution, the Revolutionary War.
See more historic sites related to Illinois in the Revolution.
View other Illinois Civil War Historical Markers
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
