History of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers Confluence Area

History of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers Confluence Area. . , Mississippi River Flooding and the Demise of Old Kaskaskia , Kaskaskia Village was the Randolph County seat of government from 1795 until 1844 when a massive flood extensively damaged the village, and the county seat was moved to Chester. , Flood Cuts New River Channel , In 1881, Mississippi River flooding broke through the narrow isthmus of land that connected Kaskaskia to the Illinois mainland and began to cut and scour a new, main Mississippi River channel from the lower 7 miles of the Kaskaskia River and severely erode the village., Kaskaskia Village Relocates , Over time channel cutting put the Mississippi River between Kaskaskia and the rest of Randolph County, making it a 17000-acre Illinois island with access only feasible from the Missouri side of the river. As the new river channel grew, the village began relocating to another site 3 miles south toward the center of the island and established a new village in 1893. Most of the old village was completely gone by 1930. The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church whose parish is over 300 years old, was moved in 1894, brick by brick, to the relocated village and still stands as an active parish. The village cemetery was relocated to the east side of the river on Garrison Hill where Fort Kaskaskia and the Pierre Menard home historic sites are the only remnants of the original village on the Illinois side of the river., Flood Protection Levees Built , In 1918 a ring levee was initially built around the island to provide minimal flood protection. The flood protection levee was dramatically improved by the Federal government from the 1950's - 80's. Notable floods affecting the island in modern times were the floods of 1973, 1993 (record flood) and 1995. , Kaskaskia Island Access Today , Vehicle access to Kaskaskia Island from Illinois requires using the Chester Bridge or the Modoc Ste. Genevieve ferry and then driving approximately 15 miles in Missouri to the Village of St. Mary and driving over the Mississippi River remnant channel bridge to the island. , Illinois' First Road: , The K-C Trail is a 60-mile corridor running through Randolph, Monroe and St. Clair Counties. The trail dates back to use by Native American civilizations as long ago as 11,000 BC. It played an integral part in French Colonization, and remained a main road through the founding of Illinois as a state. It remains a highly trafficked route in the Metro East St. Louis Region.