Kaskaskia, Illinois

1703 establishments in the French colonial empireBorder irregularities of the United StatesCatholic missions of New FranceFormer colonial and territorial capitals in the United StatesFormer county seats in Virginia ... and 12 more

Former islands of the United StatesFormer state capitals in the United StatesFrench-American culture in IllinoisFrench colonial settlements of Upper LouisianaIllinois populated places on the Mississippi RiverIslands of the Mississippi RiverPopulated places established in 1703Pre-statehood history of IllinoisRiver islands of IllinoisUse American English from January 2020Use mdy dates from January 2020Villages in Randolph County, Illinois

Kaskaskia 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, 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 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 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 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.

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Kaskaskia, Illinois
3rd Street,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude	Longitude
N 37.921388888889 °	E -89.916388888889 °

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Address

3rd Street 250
62233
Illinois, United States
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Nearby Places

Kaskaskia Bell State Memorial

Kaskaskia Bell State Memorial is a monument located in Kaskaskia, Illinois containing the Kaskaskia Bell, also known as "The Liberty Bell of the West," a gift from King Louis XV of France to the Catholic Church of New France. The 140-pound bell was cast in 1741 in La Rochelle, France. After George Rogers Clark took Kaskaskia from the British on July 4, 1778, the bell was rung in celebration. From then on, it was known as the Liberty Bell of the West. The building currently housing the bell was built in 1948. Recently, an audio program has been added sharing the history of the bell with visitors. The bell was washed away from its stand during both the Flood of 1973 and the Great Flood of 1993, widening the hairline crack discovered in 1948. As a result, the bell can no longer be rung, although Independence Day ceremonies are still held. The site is maintained by the Illinois Historic Preservation Division.

Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge

The Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Mississippi River downstream from St. Louis, Missouri. It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex.The refuge consists of three parcels of Mississippi River bottomland, nearly all of it wetland. They are Meissner Island, near Valmeyer, Illinois; Harlow Island, near Festus, Missouri; and Wilkinson Island, near Gorham, Illinois.The Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge has a local headquarters at Rockwood, Illinois, in Randolph County. In all, the refuge is located in parts of Jackson, Monroe, and Randolph counties in Illinois, and Jefferson and Perry counties in Missouri. The refuge relies for much of its staffing on the nearby Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge near Carbondale, Illinois.This Refuge was created in response to the Great Flood of 1993. The three parcels of bottomland that make up this Refuge had been riverine polders, agricultural land protected by dikes. After the dikes were breached by this flood, the damaged land parcels were transferred to the federal government. The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced plans to slowly return these three parcels to the status of semi-natural bottomlands. Pursuant to these plans, the Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge was established in May 2000.

Kaskaskia Precinct, Randolph County, Illinois

Kaskaskia Precinct is located in Randolph County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 47. This precinct is separated from the rest of Randolph County (and the rest of Illinois) by the Mississippi River.

Fort Gage, Illinois

Fort Gage is an unincorporated community in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The community is on the Mississippi River at the intersection of County Routes 3 and 6, 5.6 miles (9.0 km) northwest of Chester.

Dozaville, Illinois

Dozaville is an unincorporated community in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. Dozaville is located in Kaskaskia Precinct, which (exceptionally for Illinois) is west of the Mississippi River. Dozaville was laid out in 1872 by William Doza, and named for him.

Pierre Menard House

The Pierre Menard House, located in Ellis Grove, Illinois, U.S.A., was the home of Pierre Menard, a trader who became the first lieutenant governor of Illinois from 1818 to 1822.

Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site

Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site is a 200-acre (0.8 km²) park near Chester, Illinois, on a blufftop overlooking the Mississippi River. It commemorates the vanished frontier town of Old Kaskaskia and the support it gave to George Rogers Clark in the American Revolution.

St. Mary, Missouri

St. Mary is a city in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, United States. The population was 309 at the 2020 census.

Kaskaskia River

The Kaskaskia River 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. "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 the river, including Okawville, and in a major tributary, the West Okaw River.

Reily Lake, Illinois

Reily Lake (also known as Reiley Lake or Riley Lake) is an unincorporated community in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The community is on the Mississippi River and County Route 6 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Chester.

Saline Creek (Mississippi River tributary)

Saline Creek is a creek that rises in western Ste. Genevieve County and flows east briefly passing through a portion of northern Perry County before emptying into an offshoot of the Mississippi River north of St. Mary across from Kaskaskia Island.

River aux Vases (Mississippi River tributary)

River aux Vases is a creek that rises in Union Township in western Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri and flows into the Mississippi River about two miles north of St. Marys, Missouri.