Chester, Randolph County, Illinois

Chester, Randolph County, Illinois. Lewis and Clark Expedition. , The town of Chester, Illinois, sprawls on the eastern bluffs overlooking the November 27, 1803, Horse Island campsite of Captain Lewis and William Clark on the west bank of the Mississippi River near its confluence with the Kaskaskia River. The Corps of Discovery Expedition crew knew that six miles ahead were the Garrison of Kaskaskia, more recruits, and supplies., Clark noted in his journal November 28th, 1803, "passed the mouth said River (Kaskaskies) at half passed 8 o'clock - the high lands make near the Mississippi below the mouth of said River, a bold and rocky shore." Future travelers found the high lands near the water highways a comfortable place to settle. , Chester became the County Seat of Randolph County, Illinois, in the 1844 election and hosts the eastern side of The Chester Bridge (Route 51) over the Mississippi River. The bridge bisects Horse Island and is the only bridge crossing the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau and East St. Louis. It replaced the ferries that transported the families following the Trail of Lewis and Clark to the West. Many stayed in Chester prospering with the advent of the castor oil press in the first general store, the Cole Milling Company, the International Shoe Company, Prim Hosiery Mill, Gilster-Mary Lee Company, Menard Correctional Center, and its statue of Popeye that is a tribute to Chester's native son, Elzie Segar, a world renowned cartoonist.