Reily Lake

Reily Lake. . , Reily Lake, once a thriving community the Kaskaskia-Cahokia Trail in Randolph County played an important role in the development of the Illinois Country , Frenchman Prix Paget (Pagi) erected one of the first water mills in Illinois in 1735 on Mill Creek Pond near the Kaskaskia River. It was a stone structure on the south side of the creek and was used by area settlers to manufacture flour for the New Orleans and Mobile markets. A marrow valley formed a large pond, present Reily Lake, that furnished water to run the mill, Paget, like many other early millers, imported buhr stones from France so use their watermills. These hard stones ground superior wheat product. Softer stones dulled faster and the grind would be course, resulting in wheat flour that would Tube Linke Time The ferment faster. Kickapoo Indians attacked the mill in 1764, and Paget and two black workers were killed. After Paget's death, the mill was abandoned and became a ruin with only the stone walls remaining. , Jean Baptiste Creely established the first ferry across the Cascasquias River near Paget's Mill. In 1795, he sold the ferry and 400 acres to William Morrison for $24. , About 1795, General John Edgar considered the richest merchant in Kaskaskia, purchased Pager's land. He rebuilt the mill and restored the mill dam, and shipped large quantities of flour from Illinois to New Orleans. Edgar eventually closed the mill and it was idle for several years. , Millwright Michael Harmon had a contract to rebuild the mill in 1811, but he died before finishing his work. Meers, Freeman, Lessieur, Wheeler, and Jones purchased the mill in 1832, and operated it until Daniel Reily became owner in 1842. , Reily ran the mill and opened a dry goods store nearby. He built a home on the site for his wife Mary and their 11 children. The pond and the land around mill would become known ,as Reily Lake. Businesses thrived and in 1885 Reily built a new steam and water mill. Daniel died in 1867, and his sons Edward and Henry operated the mill untill1881. That year Henry Brown leased the mill and the Bovey brothers leased the dry goods store until it was destroyed by fire. Reilly's miller, Peter Sternaman, ran the mill for a time before abandoning it. In the mid-20th century stones, bricks, and two buhr stones could be seen in the ruins. , In 1887, the Centralia to Chester Railroad fostered the growth of village of Reily Lake. A grain elevator was erected near the tracks and the Beare brothers built a new general store . The Neuling Milling Company erected a new mill in Reily Like, and the small settlement was surveyed into town lots. The Southern Railroad, successor to the C&CRR, ran a line west from Reily Lake that crossed the Mississippi by ferry near Kellogg. , The K-C Trail is a 60-mile corridor running through Randolph, Monroe and St Clair Counties. The trail dates back to me by Native American civilizations as long ago as 11,000 BC. It played an integral part in French Colonization, and remained a main read through the founding Illinois as a state. It remains a highly trafficked route in the Metro East St. Louis Region , Learn More: KCTrailIL.org Facebook.com/Kaskaskia Cahokia Trail