#kaskaskia

The tomb of a very important pup, Birdie, a wandering spirit

Kaskaskia, Illinois

A magical forest.

Fort Kaskaskia State Park, Illinois

Kaskaskia - Fleecian Winter Majesty

Pacific Threnodies

Illinois became the 21st state in the Union on December 3, 1818, making 2018 its Bicentennial year. This month we are joining other Chicago-area cultural heritage institutions in celebrating the Illinois' Bicentennial by hosing a special pop-up display of archival documents and rare books from our collections: correspondence, maps, books, and more that date to the time period when Illinois was transforming from French-held "Illinois Country" to the 21st state in the Union.

This exhibit is a part of Chicago Open Archives, a month-long series of events throughout the city and suburbs connecting community members with the collections, programs, and services of local archival repositories. Learn more at http://chicagoarchivists.org/coa 

The physical exhibit of reproductions will be on display at the University of Chicago's Joseph Regenstein Library throughout the month of October, with some original materials on display in the Special Collections Research Center. For those of you who cannot visit in person, scroll down for a virtual view of our selections for this exhibit.

Transition from Territory to Statehood in Illinois

The oldest item displayed is a 1778 letter that was written when Illinois was a part of the American Revolutionary War's western theater. The letter, signed by George Wythe, George Mason, and Thomas Jefferson, congratulates George Rogers Clark on his appointment as the leader of a military expedition to the Northwest Territory. This was the beginning of a secret mission during the war later known as the Illinois Campaign, or Clark's Northwestern Campaign. Clark was ordered to seize control of Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and several other villages in French and British-held "Illinois Country." In the letter, the Virginia General Assembly mentions Native American raids in the territory which were instigated by the British. They also assure Clark that he and his soldiers will receive bounties of land as compensation. The nearby hand-drawn plat map demarcates the tract of 150,000 acres granted to Clark's soldiers in 1784.

Transcription of letter:

To George Rogers Clark                                Williamsburg Janry 3, 1776

Sir,

            As some Indian Tribes to the westward of / the Missisippi have lately, without any provo- /cation massacred many of the Inhabitants upon / the Frontiers of this Commonwealth, in the / most cruel & barbarous manner, & it is intended / to revenge this injury & punish the Aggressors / by carrying the war into their own country. / We congratulate you upon your appoint / ment to conduct so important an Enterprize / in which we most heartily wish you / Success, and we have no Doubt that some / further reward in Lands in that country / will be given to the Volunteers who shall / engage in this Service, in addition to the / usual pay. If they are so fortunate to / Succeed, We think it just & reasonable that / each Volunteer entering[?] as a common Soldier in this Expedition, should be allowed three / hundred acres of Land, & the Officers in the / usual proportion, out of the Lands which may be conquered in the country now in / the possession of the said Indians; so as / not to interfere with the claims of any / friendly Indians, or of any people willing / to become Subjects of this Commonwealth, / and for this we think you may safely / confide in the justice & generosity of the / Virginia Assembly.

                          We are Sir Yr Most Hble. Servts

                                                                              G. Wythe                                                                                                            G. Mason                                                                                Th. Jefferson                                                           

Letter from Virginia General Assembly to George Rogers Clark, January 3, 1778. Historical Manuscripts Collection, Box 24, Folder 15.

Plat of the Illinois Grant, 1784. Reuben T. Durrett Collection of Portraits, Illustrations, and Cartographic Material, Box 2, Folder 12.

Following the Revolutionary War, some, such as Gilbert Imlay, profited from the land grant system as surveyors. The 1797 edition of Imlay's popular A topographical description of the western territory of North America… served as an encyclopedia of North America for new settlers.

Imlay’s description of the Illinois country:

“The triangular tract of land at the head of this great vale, and between the Mississippi, the Ohio, and lake Erie (as that lake is vulgarly called), the country of the Illinois, is the finest spot of earth upon the globe, swelling with moderate hills, but no mountains, watered by the finest rivers, and of the most delightful climate; the soil, as appears from the woods with which it is clothed, is of the most abundant fruitfulness in vegetation. It abounds with coal; and there are multitudes of salt springs in all parts of it. There are mines of iron, copper, and lead. Wild rye grows here also spontaneously.” (p. 101)

Imlay’s Topographical description also reproduced the text of one Mr. Patrick Kennedy’s journal of an expedition in 1773 from Kaskaskia to the head of the Illinois river.

Imlay, Gilbert (1754?-1828?). A topographical description of the western territory of North America… London: Printed for J. Debrett, 1797.  F352.I33 Rare c.1

The practice of granting Illinois land to volunteer soldiers continued in the War of 1812. American Nicholas Biddle van Zandt's 1818 Description of Military Lands describes three tracts of bounty lands, including the Illinois Military Tract which was situated between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The aim of Van Zandt’s text was to “give a faithful, a substantial, and, it is hoped, a satisfactory view of the Illinois and Missouri territories” and to aid settlers in selecting “the very spot upon which he may fix his habitation and his home.” Van Zandt also describes the Illinois Territory as a whole including an early description of the Chicago River and its potential as a “safe and commodious harbor for shipping” and the means by which the sand bank blocking the entrance to Lake Michigan might be removed. 

Van Zandt, Nicholas Biddle. A full description of the soil, water, timber, and prairies of each lot, or quarter section of the Military Lands between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Washington City: Printed by P. Force, 1818. F547.M6 V28 1818 Rare c.1

 Numerous accounts of the Illinois Territory were published, many with hopes of attracting emigrants. Irish author Thomas Ashe expounded upon the natural history of the area in Memoirs of mammoth, and various other extraordinary and stupendous bones…

Ashe, Thomas (1770-1835). Memoirs of mammoth, and various other extraordinary and stupendous bones … found in the vicinity of the Ohio, Wabash, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Osage, and Red Rivers. Liverpool: Printed by G. F. Harris, 1806. QE882.U7A8 Rare c.1

Adlard Welby’s A Visit to North America and the English Settlements in Illinois with a Winter Residence in Philadelphia included a description of the German settlement of Harmony, Illinois. Harmony was a settlement mostly comprised of poor Germans, though any person who agreed to live by the communal rules was allowed to join the community. The settlement lived by the principle of a communion of goods. That is, all of the harvested crops went into a communal store, and each person received the necessary amount of food. The tavern owner told author Adlard Welby: “We have every thing we can want, for our comfort and something more.”

Welby, Adlard. A Visit to North America and the English Settlements in Illinois with a Winter Residence in Philadelphia. London: Printed for J. Drury, 1821. E41.W44 1821 Rare c.1

Morris Birkbeck, a British emigrant to the Illinois Territory who would later serve as Secretary of State of Illinois, described his American travel experiences and the establishment of the English Settlement, in Illinois Territory in Notes on a journey in America, from the coast of Virginia to the Territory of Illinois. First published in Philadelphia 1817, Notes, and its follow up, Letters from Illinois (1818), were wildly popular with multiple editions being published both in the United States and abroad, including multiple translations. The hand-colored map on display was published in the 1st London edition of Birkbeck’s Notes and includes all of the land traversed by Birkbeck’s party. Note the interesting placement of the borders of Indiana and the Illinois Territory; the location of Birkbeck’s settlement in the southeastern portion of the territory, on the Little Wabash River is captioned “The Prairie Settlement.”

Birkbeck, Morris (1764-1825). Notes on a journey in America: from the coast of Virginia to the Territory of Illinois. London: Printed by Severn & Redington, for Ridgway and Sons, 1818. E162.B617 1818 Rare c.1

Birkbeck’s Letters from Illinois recounts his experiences living in the English Settlement and served to introduce Europeans (and hopefully convince them to emigrate) to the advantages of America.

Birkbeck, Morris (1764-1825). Letters from Illinois. London: Printed for Taylor and Hessey, 1818. F545.B61 Rare c.1

British emigrant John Woods’ Two years’ residence describes his journey from England to the English Settlement in Illinois, along with the flora, fauna, agriculture, buildings, and business in the region. Woods' “Map of the allotments” shows the towns and ranges of the lower portion of Illinois.

Woods also provided a description of Birkbeck’s settlement, Wanborough:

“Mr. Birkbeck’s settlement, called Wanborough, is situated at the north-west corner of the English Prairie, and contains 25 cabins, a tavern, a store or two, and several lodging houses; and several carpenters, bricklayers, brick-makers, smiths, wheelwrights, and sawyers; also a taylor and butcher ... The building lots, at Wanborough, are some of five, and others of two and a half acres, laid out, like most of the American towns, in streets that cross each other at right angles, running north and south; the cross ones east and west. The lots are in the woods, but a considerable quantity of the wood is now cleared.” (p. 160-161)

Woods, John (-1829). Two years’ residence in the settlement on the English Prairie, in the Illinois country, United States: with an account of its animal and vegetable productions, agriculture, &c. &c., with the habits and customs of the back-woodsmen. London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1822. F547.E2W9 1822 Rare c.2

  As Illinois inched closer to statehood in 1817, Cook and Blackwell - the first printers in Illinois - published a list of laws, many to establish county seats and courthouses. (Cook County, Illinois is named for printer Daniel Cook).

Laws passed by the Legislative council, and House of representatives, of Illinois territory, at their fifth session, held at Kaskaskia, 1816-'17. Kaskaskia, I.T.: Printed by Cook and Blackwell, printers to the territory, 1817.  KFI1225.2 1816, Lincoln Collection

Counties and major cities in early Illinois were very different from what they are now. Kaskaskia was the capital of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818. Located on the Mississippi River, it was flooded many times and the decision was made to move the capital to Vandalia in 1819, 70 miles northeast of St. Louis. Louis Beck's 1823 A gazetteer of the states of Illinois and Missouri… includes a plan for the new capital and the neighboring streets. It also describes Chicago as a small place of 10 or 15 homes in Pike County.

Map of Illinois, 1818 | Lincoln/Net | NIU Digital Library

This map, provided by the Chicago History Museum, depicts Illinois at the time that it became the twenty-first state. In 1809 the area that became the state of Illinois was organized as the Illinois territory, with its capital at Kaskaskia. That city is visible on this map on Illinois’ southwestern border, across the Mississippi River from St. Genevieve, Missouri. Kaskaskia remained the capital of Illinois for a year, until the government removed to Vandalia, some 120 miles to the northeast. Vandalia was a very small town, not even represented on the above map, but Kaskaskia had proved unsuitable as a seat of government due to the Mississippi’s persistent threat of flooding. Vandalia also promised a more central location for a state eager to grow toward the north and east. As the map shows, much of what is now the most heavily-populated part of the state of Illinois had not even been divided into quarter sections, much less counties, at the time of statehood. 

The Illinois country was not settled by parties moving across the land from east to west. In a time of very few roads, this would have been an extremely difficult task. Instead, immigrants came to Illinois by way of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, moving largely from south to north. The parts of this map depicted as settled, organized territory were, and are, largely inhabited by people who came to Illinois from Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. The wedge of land making up Illinois’ westernmost parts was also settled by way of river travel, but it was unique in that it had been set aside by Congress for settlement by veterans of the War of 1812. Note that it is identified on the map as “Military Bounty Land.”

Settlers did not come to northern, central and eastern Illinois in large numbers until the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 made that land more accessible by way of the Great Lakes and Chicago. Today those portions of the state retain a significant population descended from immigrants who came to the state from New England and the middle states, like New York and Pennsylvania.

Rural cemetery on a hill.

Kaskaskia, Illinois

The 3,000 graves of the residents of Kaskaskia, Illinois, had to be relocated uphill as a result of the Mississippi River taking a new path right through town.

Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site, Illinois

Getting dark.

Kaskaskia, Illinois