BLACK POWDER! (BOOM!
(BOOM! ).
). ILLINOIS ADVENTURE IS MADE
POSSIBLE IN PART BY
TODAY ON "ILLINOIS ADVENTURE," WE WILL TEE OFF AT ONE OF THESE
STATE'S MOST SCENIC COURSES,
LEARN ABOUT COLONIAL LIFE INSIDE
THESE WALLS, PARTICIPATE IN ONE
OF THE FASTEST GROWING TARGET
SPORTS, AND WE WILL DISCOVER
FRENCH HISTORY AT THIS OLD
CEMETERY.
CEMETERY. ALL THIS ON "ILLINOIS
ADVENTURE."
ADVENTURE." >>IT WAS AN EMPIRE THAT
STRETCHED FROM QUEBEC DOWN THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO NEW
ORLEANS, BUT IT WAS ONE ONE THAT
WOULDN'T HAVE SURVIVED WITHOUT
ILLINOIS.
ILLINOIS. WHILE MANY CAME HERE IN SEARCH
OF GOLD, THE GOLD THEY FOUND WAS
NOT MINERALS.
NOT MINERALS. HI, I AM JIM WILHELM.
TODAY WE ARE AT WHAT WAS THE
ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS OF
FRANCE'S ILLINOIS COUNTRY, FORT
DE CHARTES.
DE CHARTES. IT WAS THE THIRD FORT THE FRENCH
BUILT IN THE AREA IT WAS THE
MOST PERMANENT.
MOST PERMANENT. THE FIRST WAS A SIMPLE STRUCTURE
FORMED BY A WOODEN STOCKADE, BUT
IT GETS VERY DAMP HERE DURING
THE SPRING AND THE WOOD ROTTED.
SECOND FORT WAS LARGER WITH FOUR
BASTIANS, AND SEVERAL BUILDINGS
INSIDE.
INSIDE. IT, TOO, EVENTUALLY SUCCUMBED TO
THE ELEMENTS.
THE ELEMENTS. IN 1753, THIS FORT, THE LARGEST
OF THE THREE WAS FINISHED.
YET, IT WAS MORE THAN JUST A
REPLACEMENT.
REPLACEMENT. IT WAS A STATEMENT.
AT A TIME OF RISING TENSIONS
WITH THE BRITISH, THIS STONE
STRUCTURE DRAMATICALLY SHOWN THE
POWER OF FRANCE AND ITS
DETERMINATION TO STAY.
AND WHAT FIRST BROUGHT THE
FRENCH TO THIS AREA?
BEAVER PELTS.
BEAVER PELTS. WHAT THE TRAPPERS QUICKLY
LEARNED BECAUSE WAS MILD WINTERS
HERE, THOSE PELTS WERE WORTHLESS
IN EUROPE.
IN EUROPE. THE FRENCH ALSO THOUGHT THEY
WOULD FIND GOLD HERE, AND THEY
DID, BUT NOT IN VEINS FIVE MILES
FROM THE FORT ARE THESE
LIMESTONE BLUFFS, BLUFFS FROM
WITH THE FORT AND MANY AREA
BUILDING GOT THEIR STONE.
HOWEVER, THE REAL WEALTH OF THE
ILLINOIS COUNTRY LAID BETWEEN
THOSE BLUFFS AND THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER.
RIVER. THIS AREA WAS AND IS VERY
PRODUCTIVE FARM LAND, AND THE
GOLD WAS THE GRAIN RAISED HERE.
SO MUCH SO THAT BY 1750, THIS
AREA WAS SHIPPING 800,000 POUNDS
OF FLOUR, AND THIS AREA HAD
BECOME KNOWN AS THE BREAD BASKET
OF FRANCE IN THE NEW WORLD.
NOT JUST FLOUR, BUT ALSO HAMS,
ONION, DRIED BEANS, AND BUFFALO
MEAT.
MEAT. MOST OF IT WAS SHIPPED DOWN
RIVER TO NEW ORLEANS.
IT IS SAID WITHOUT ILLINOIS'
PRODUCE, FRANCE'S LOWER
LOUISIANA COLONY WOULD HAVE
FACED STARVATION.
FACED STARVATION. THAT PRODUCE WAS EXCHANGED FOR
MERCHANDISE FROM FRANCE WHICH
WAS BROUGHT HERE FOR
DISTRIBUTION TO OTHER MIDWEST
POSTS.
POSTS. BEHIND ME IS THE KING'S
STOREHOUSE WHICH HELD NOT ONLY
THE SUPPLIES FORT, BUT FOR THE
MAJOR TRADERS IN THE AREA AS
WELL.
WELL. THIS WAS A BUSY PLACE.
THERE WERE NO TREES INSIDE THE
FORT AS THERE ARE TODAY, AND THE
GRASS WOULD HAVE BEEN TRAMMELED
INTO DUST.
INTO DUST. OUTSIDE THE WALLS WAS THE TOWN
OF NEUVOUS CHARTES AND JUST
ACROSS THE ROAD WAS ANOTHER
VILLAGE.
WELCOME BACK TO FORT DE CHARTES WHICH WAS THE LOCATION OF THE
ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER OF
FRANCE'S ILLINOIS COUNTRY.
IT WAS A COUNTRY THAT EXPEND
TENDED FROM PEORIA TO ALABAMA,
AND FROM THE KANSAS RIVER TO THE
WABASH RIVER.
WABASH RIVER. THIS FOUNDATION MARKS THE SPOT
WHERE THE COMMON CAN'T, HIS
FAMILY AND SERVANTS LIVED, PLUS
IT IS THE ONLY BUILDING IN THE
FORT WITH OWN PRIVATE WINE
CELLAR.
CELLAR. THE COMMON CAN'T WAS THE
GOVERNOR OF THE COUNTRY.
NEXT WAS THE HOUSE WHERE THE
POLITICAL BUSINESS WAS CONDUCTED
AND THE OFFICERS LIVED.
ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CENTER PATH
WERE BARRACKS, EACH ONE DESIGNED
TO HOUSE ABOUT 75 FRENCH
MARINES.
MARINES. IT WAS DOUBTFUL WHETHER THEY
EVER HELD A FULL CONTINGENCY OF
MEN.
MEN. SOME WOULD HAVE BEEN STATIONED
AT VARIOUS OUTPOSTS WHILE OTHERS
WOULD HAVE BEEN LIVED IN NEARBY
VILLAGES.
VILLAGES. IN FACT, SOLDIERS WERE ENCOURAGE
TODAY START THEIR OWN BUSINESSES
SO THEY COULD STAY IN THE AREA.
IN FRANCE'S NEW COLONIAL WORLD
THIS WAS THE BEST LOCATION TO BE
ASSIGNED THE ONLY TROUBLE WITH
THE BRITISH WAS WAY BACK IN
OHIO, AND THE INDIANS IN THIS
AREA WEREN'T TERRIBLY
AGGRESSIVE, PLUS THE FOOD WAS
PLENTIFUL. BUT IT WASN'T ALL
ALL IDYLLIC, PAY WAS SLOW IN
MANY COULD GO, COINAGE WAS
SCARCE.
SCARCE. UNIFORMS WHICH THEY HAD TO PAY
FOR OUT OF THEIR OWN SALARY WERE
NOT SENT REGULARLY AND THEY WERE
OF POOR QUALITY.
BUT IT WAS A HIGHER STANDARD OF
LIVING THAN THE LIFE THEY LEFT
BEHIND.
BEHIND. THE ONLY ORIGINAL STRUCTURE
STILL STAND FROM THE FRENCH ERA
IS THE POWDER MAGAZINE.
IT HAD BEEN CALLED THE OLDEST
BUILDING IN ILLINOIS, AND IT IS
AN INDICATION OF THE SUPPLY AND
STORAGE FUNCTION OF FORT DE
CHARTES.
CHARTES. WHEN IT WAS BUILT, THIS WAS A
SECOND LARGEST MAGAZINE IN NORTH
AMERICA.
AMERICA. THE ONLY LARGER ONE WAS IN
QUEBEC CITY, CANADA.
AFTER THE TROOPS LEFT HERE, THIS
BUILD WAS USED AS A HORSE AND
HOG BARN FOR NEIGHBORING FARM.
ANOTHER INTERESTING FACT IS THAT
THE ENTRANCE VISITORS USED WAS
ACTUALLY THE REAR OF THE FORT.
THE MAIN GATE WAS ON THE OTHER
SIDE FACING THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER.
RIVER. TODAY, A LEVEE WALL STANDS IN
ITS PLACE DEFENDING AGAINST AN
OLDEN MI, MOTHER NATURE.
WELCOME BACK TO FORT DE CHARTES. THIS WAS ONCE THE ADMINISTRATIVE
CENTER OF FRANCE'S ILLINOIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. HERE CIVIL AND CRIMINAL TRIALS
WERE CONDUCTED, TRADERS STORED
THEIR SUPPLIERS AND SOLDIERS
WERE REASSIGNED TO OTHER
OUTPOSTS.
THE FORT ITSELF COVERED APPROXIMATELY FOUR ACRES, AND
WAS SURROUNDED BY 15-FOOT WALLS.
INSIDE, CANNONS WERE PLACED ON
WOODEN PLATFORMS.
WOODEN PLATFORMS. AFTER FIRING, THEY WOULD BE
PULLED BACK AND THE PORTAL DOOR
SHUT TO PROTECT THE GUNNERS
WHILE THEY RELOADED.
THIS FORT WAS BUILT DURING A
RELATIVELY TRANQUIL PERIOD, MORE
AS A SYMBOL THAN AS A DEFENSIVE
BASE. IN FACT, A PERSISTENT
STORY TOLD OVER THE YEARS IS ONE
COMMANDANTE ISSUED AN ORDINANCE
THAT THE CANNON NOT BE FIRED FOR
CEREMONIAL PURPOSES TO PREVENT
THE WALLS FROM CRACKING.
THE WALLS WERE COVERED WITH LIME
MORTAR, A WHITEWASH.
FROM A DISTANCE, THE FORT WAS SO
WHITE IT, APPEARED TO GLOW.
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS STATEMENT OF
FRANCE'S POWER AND PERMANENCE
WAS CONSTRUCT DURING HER WANING
YEARS.
YEARS. IN 1763, TEN YEARS AFTER THE
FORT WAS FINISHED, THE FRENCH
LOST THE FRENCH-INDIAN WAR. THE
RESULT WAS THEY FORFEITED THE
LAND ON THIS SIDE OF THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY NOW
BELONGED TO THE BRITISH, BUT IT
WAS TWO YEARS BEFORE THEY
ARRIVED.
IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ARRIVAL OF THEIR DREAD ENEMY, MANY OF
THE AREA VILLAGESSERS MOVED
ACROSS THE RIVER SOME TAKING
THEIR HOMES WITH THEM.
WHEN THE BRITISH ARRIVED, ONE OF
THEIR FIRST ORDERS PROHIBITED
ANYONE FROM LEAVING THE AREA.
THE HISTORY OF THE FORT AND OF
FRENCH COLONIAL LIFE IS RETOLD
AT A MUSEUM WHERE THE KING'S
STOREHOUSE ONCE STOOD.
ON DISPLAY ARE SOME OF THE BITS
AND PIECES OF TABLE WARE AND
BOTTLES FOUND DUE EXCAVATIONS
FROM THE FORT.
THERE ARE EVEN BIOS OF SOME OF
THE PEOPLE'S WHOSE NAMES CAN
STILL BE FOUND ON AREA MAPS OR
WHO HAD HISTORICAL TIES, SUCH
FRANCESUA DUE VALLE.
HE MARRIED THE COMMANDANTE'S
DAUGHTER.
DAUGHTER. HIS BROTHER WHO SERVED AS AN
OFFICER WAS KILLED BY THE
BRITISH MILITIA ALONG THE OHIO
RIVER.
RIVER. THAT MA HADLY SHA WAS UNDER THE
COMMAND OF MAJOR GEORGE
WASHINGTON.
IT LASTED ONLY SIX YEARS. THEY WERE DRIVEN AWAY BY MOTHER
NATURE.
NATURE. DURING THE TIME, MISSISSIPPI
RIVER KEPT CREEPING CLOSER TO
THE FRONT WALL UNTIL IT WAS
EVENTUALLY UNDERMINING THE WALL.
IN 1771, A SMALL FLOOD CAUSED
THE WALLS TO COLLAPSE.
THINKING THAT THE RIVER WOULD
CONTINUE TO EAT AWAY AT THE
FORT, THE BRITISH MOVED
DOWNSTREAM TO KASKASKIA, BUT THE
JOKE WAS ON THEM.
AFTER THEY LEFT, THE MAIN CHANNEL BEGAN TO DRIFT BACK AWAY
FROM THE FORT.
TODAY IT IS ABOUT A MILE AWAY
FROM FORT DE CHARTES, BUT THE
WALLS AND BUILDINGS DID COME
DOWN AS NEARBY TOWNSFOLK TOOK
THE STONE FOR USE IN OTHER
STRUCTURES.
STRUCTURES. THE FORT ROSE AGAIN DURING THE
DEPRESSION WHEN THE CCC REBUILT
A COUPLE OF THE BUILDINGS AND
PORTIONS OF THE WALL.
WHAT WAS REALLY STRANGE IS IN
SOME RESPECTS, THE FORT IS STILL
SERVING ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE,
ALTHOUGH NOT IN THE WAY THE
FOUNDERS INTENDED.
FOUNDERS INTENDED. YOU WILL REMEMBER THE FRENCH
BUILT A STONE FORT TO SYMBOLIZE
THEIR PERMANENCE IN THE AREA,
AND IT DID.
TODAY THE FORT IS STILL HERE.
THE COLONIAL FRENCH FLAG IS
STILL FLYING, AND FRENCH NAMES
DOT THE LANDSCAPE.
SO, IN A WAY, THE FRENCH
PRESENCE IN THE AREA HAS NEVER
LEFT.
LEFT. DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE,
AND LATER IN THE FALL, THE
FORT'S GROUNDS RETURN TO THE
PAST AS HOST TO ONE OF THE
LARGEST DOWNSTATE RENDEZVOUSES.
FOR SPECIAL GROUPS, STAFF
MEMBERS DON PERIOD COS TUESDAY
TO CONDUCT TOURS. FOR DATES OR
TIMES ABOUT THOSE EVENTS CALLED
(618)284-7230.