Fayette County, Illinois - Chapter 1: Civil History, 1878

Chapter 1: Civil History

HE discovery and subsequent occupation of the vast extent of territory known as the Northwestern Territory, the struggle for supremacy within its borders by two of the most powerful nations of modern times, and its final incorporation into the young and insignificant confederation of States, are facts that would seem to indicate providential interference in behalf of the Republic. Had it been otherwise, had France and England maintained a foothold in this, the fairest and richest portion of the American Continent, the trials, sufferings and successes of the revolutionary and liberty-loving heroes would have come to naught; they would have only been temporarily successful; they would have awakened from their dreams of a free and constitutional govern¬ ment to find a monster of gigantic proportions overshadowing their peaceful homes and one that would ultimately have swallowed them up; the estab¬ lishment of an empire more mighty and powerful than any of its European progenitors.

But fortunately for the Republic and human liberty a succession of adventitious circumstances interposed, which prevented the accomplishment of such a project and finally made the disputed territory an integrant of the Union. From the time of the discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto and the subsequent exploration by Marquette and La Salle, the history of the country is almost a romance, interspersed with some beautiful and many tragic passages.

The Fib8T Settlements In Illinois

In 1675 Jacques Marquette, a religious enthusiast, conceived the idea of spreading the gospel among the Indian tribes of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. For this purpose, he travelled in company with Lewis Joliet^ a trader, and who knew something of the topography of the country in which Marquette proposed to establish his mission.

Pnor to their long and perilous journey they had spent several years among the tribes that frequented the country in the neighborhood of the Great Lakes. Marquette's zeal in his great work, coupled with an active mind and great energy, enabled him to master many or the dialects. His influence among the Indians was unlimited. He seemed to possess all the requirements to succeed in his great undertaking. The first mission was established at the principal Indian village in the section, which was where Utica, in La Salle County, now is. In 1680, La Salle, a French soldier, with a small body of troops descended the Mississippi, and built a fort on the Illinois River, near Lake Peoria. These with the settlement at Fort St. Louis were the first in the territory. Kaskaskia was next selected as a

? oint at which to found a colony, which was successfully effected between 685 or 1690. The exact date is a matter of speculation, as none of the records in existence give any definite information upon the subject Until 1711 the territory was considered as a Canadian province. But in the early a of the eighteenth century numerous exploring parties traversed it from directions, north and south. The act venturous Canadians still conti¬ nuing to send parties for the purpose of forming permanent settlements, and the home government beginning to realize the extent and richness of the country, ana fearful lest her hereditary enemy, England, should endeavor to make a conquest of it, dispatched troops, with able commanders, who sailed to the mouth of the Mississippi, and navigated its course almost to its head waters, building forts and founding colonies at various points along their route.

In 1711 the entire country was erected into one province and the capital I located at Mobile. At this time the region in and around Kaskaskia bid fair to be the centre of refinement and learning of the western world. From the date of its founding Kaskaskia grew apace. Emigrants were locating in the vicinity in unprecedented numbers. A great impetus was given to emigration by the visionary and speculative schemes of John Law. The people of France, of all degrees, seemed to have lost their reason. Nothing in the history of popular fallacies approached it, save, perhaps, the tulip mania, which well-nigh made Holland bankrupt. While the bursting of the bubble inundated and nearly ruined France, it was not without its benefit. It served to attract the attention of the people, and many hurried to the El Dorado where they were led to believe, like Ponce De Leon, that youth and wealth were indigenous to the soil.