John Messinger received a formal education in New England before settling on the Illinois frontier in 1802. After serving as St. Clair County Surveyor, he was appointed Deputy United States Surveyor and platted much of the government land between . . . — — Map (db m140532) HM
Born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Bunsen fled to St. Clair County in 1834 after participating in a failed revolt. He farmed with other Latin Farmers and taught school. He was elected a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention of 1847. . . . — — Map (db m208519) HM
Fort Piggott
Revolutionary War Captain James Piggot (1735-1799) was a native of Connecticut who later moved to Pennsylvania and commanded a company of Pennsylvania troops in the battle of Brandywine and Saratoga, among others. After an . . . — — Map (db m244293) HM WM
This nature trail was officially completed in October 2006. The Stemler family emigrated from Nordenstadt Germany in 1832. This trail traverses much of the original family homestead, and the first family home, a log cabin, can still be seen just . . . — — Map (db m305386) HM
With the opening of the National Road through this area, small communities began to the established along the route, one of which was Casey. The first settler was John Lang, a native of Scotland. Lang and family arrived from Ohio in 1838 and bought . . . — — Map (db m152488) HM
James E. Williams, Sr. was born in Maysville, Kentucky and graduated from Wilberforce University. As an independent candidate he was elected the first Black Mayor of East St. Louis, Illinois in 1971. He fought for the rights of minorities to secure . . . — — Map (db m215457) HM
Revolutionary War Captain James Piggot commanded a military company of Pennsylvania Regulators in the battle of Brandywine against British General Cornwallis. After giving up his military commission, Piggot and his family traveled down the Ohio . . . — — Map (db m298904) HM
This region lowered the French Bourbon flag in October 1765 when the territory fell under British control. A British military report commissioned a few years later states that the French redoubt here called Fort Kaskaskia had been burned and . . . — — Map (db m302431) HM
European Settlement
European settlement in the region began with French explorers and Jesuit priests that paddled into the area from the north. They established the villages/missionaries of Cahokia in 1699 and Kaskaskia in 1703 to . . . — — Map (db m257327) HM
Route 66, the Mother Road, is an American icon that symbolizes romance and freedom of the open road. Born in 1926, Route 66 was one of the first numbered U.S. highways, journeying 2,500 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Today, you can still "get . . . — — Map (db m144521) HM
Ditch Tavern…
…was the first hotel in Waterloo located on North Main Street, and run by David and Hannah Ditch. David H. Ditch owned the land on which Waterloo was built until it was purchased by George Forquer in 1818.
The Old Tavern . . . — — Map (db m148322) HM
January 6, 1816 — An Act of the legislature of the Illinois Territory was enacted to form a new county out of Randolph and St. Clair Counties to be called Monroe County named after then U.S. Secretary of State James Monroe who would be elected . . . — — Map (db m205551) HM
The Moore family left a distinguished mark on Waterloo's history.
Some time after settlement at Bellefontaine had been made, Captain James Moore, having established to some degree amicable relations with the Indians, took steps toward . . . — — Map (db m219950) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m257360) HM
John Jacob Hays was born in New York circa 1770. His family emigrated to North America from the Netherlands in 1720. The Hays family belongs to Congregation Shearith Israel, the oldest Jewish Congregation in the United States.
John Jacob Hays . . . — — Map (db m140422) HM
From the 1940's to the Present-Day: The Kaskaskia River Project
Several Floods in the 1940's and lack of rural economic development in the
region prompted many communities and regional leaders to organize to solicit
the state and . . . — — Map (db m257393) HM
Colonel William R. Morrison
One of Waterloo's most renowned and distinguished citizens was Colonel William R. Morrison, to whom the city owes its library.
The library building at the corner of Library and Park Streets was Colonel . . . — — Map (db m219967) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m292383) HM
Imagine Main Street in the early 1900s. Horses pull supply wagons stocked with fruits, vegetables, and dry goods to shops facing the thoroughfare. Trolleys bounce and clang as they trundle down rails at the street's center. Bicyclists weave between . . . — — Map (db m144068) HM
This small community is located in the southern part of New Design Precinct. It was settled in the late 1830's by immigrants from Tipperary, Ireland. The press of economic and political circumstances caused many Irish to immigrate to Monroe . . . — — Map (db m283180) HM
Between 1880 and 1920, nearly 24 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Many found work in the mines, mills, and factories of America's rapidly expanding industrial sector.
In 1913 American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Company . . . — — Map (db m167916) HM
Abraham Lincoln was a guest at the John Scheel Home on this site and spoke from its balcony to the citizens of Belleville on October 18, 1856. — — Map (db m305130) HM
The frontier militia spirit is depicted in this 1940 calendar art rendering of Lincoln, the Soldier by artist Fletcher Ransom. When Chief Black Hawk in 1832 led Sac and Fox warriors on roads to recover their traditional grounds. Illinois . . . — — Map (db m182089) HM
Cahokia Courthouse is one of the region's oldest buildings and a unique remnant of the French occupation of the mid-Mississippi Valley. Originally constructed in about 1740 as a dwelling, the building became a courthouse in 1790. For twenty-four . . . — — Map (db m142087) HM
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
The story of the Madison County Transit (MCT) Trails is really a story about the vision and tenacity of one man, Jerry J. Kane. . . . — — Map (db m281012) HM
Anton Schott A doctor of philosophy and religion, Schott was a history professor before coming to the
United States and settling in Shiloh Valley. His love of reading and learning inspired him
to create the German Library Association of St. . . . — — Map (db m187825) HM
Dupo, in St. Clair County began as a French-speaking
village. The village's current name is an abridged version of
original name, Prairie du Pont. This land has a rich history of
prehistoric occupation. Paleo Indians arrived 12,000 years ago, . . . — — Map (db m308078) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
