The Iliniwek Village State Historic Site is a state-owned property in Clark County,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, maintained by the

Missouri Department of Natural Resources The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) of the government of the U.S. state of Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied fo ...

, preserving the only known Illinois Indian village discovered in Missouri.

History

Acquired by the state of Missouri in 1992, the 127-acre

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

has proved to be an important archaeological discovery due to its size and quality of preservation. It is considered the largest and best preserved of any Illinois Indian village. The village was occupied from approximately 1640 to 1683. During that time the village contained at least three hundred (300) lodges with an estimated population in excess of eight thousand (8,000) tribe members. Archaeological digs in the 1990s discovered numerous house foundations, storage pits and evidence of a palisade fortification. The remains of at least one tribal member were also recovered at the site, in 1998. Among smaller items found was evidence of contact with early European explorers and traders, including glass beads, metal objects, and Jesuit trade rings. The Illinois Indian tribe were the first Native Americans encountered in present-day Missouri by

Louis Joliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...

and Father

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ign ...

, who visited the village in 1673.

Site details

The site is located on a high sand terrace above the

Des Moines River The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Na ...

floodplain off Clark County Road 188 two miles south-southeast of St. Francisville, Missouri. A walking trail of one and a quarter miles has interpretive signage, the remains of a typical Illinois Tribe–style long house, an oxbow lake, and an example of an Illinois round house. Limited picknicking and restroom facilities are available. The site is open year-round from sunrise to sunset, with a gate blocking vehicle traffic from November through March.

References

External links

Iliniwek Village State Historic Site
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Iliniwek Village State Historic Site Trail Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{Protected areas of Missouri Former Native American populated places in the United States Missouri State Historic Sites Protected areas of Clark County, Missouri Protected areas established in 1992 History of Missouri