Kaskaskia–Cahokia Trail
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The Kaskaskia–Cahokia Trail was the first road (used for walking and stagecoaches) in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, running from
Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...
to
Cahokia Cahokia Mounds ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis. The state archaeology park lies in south-western Illinois between East St. L ...
.


History


Native Americans

The Confederated Peorias originated in the land surrounding the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
and drained by the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. Those peoples are the
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
or the Ilini Indians, descendants of the people who created the large mound societies in the Great Plains two to three thousand years ago. The Kaskaskia–Cahokia Trail had a role in the lives of some Ilini Indians.


Settlers

When the French created permanent settlements at
Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...
and
Cahokia Cahokia Mounds ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis. The state archaeology park lies in south-western Illinois between East St. L ...
, they named these townships after the Illini Indians who lived there before. Other villages, towns, and settlements grew over the next century dotting the east half of the Mississippi River's
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
. This first road caused other roads that eventually led to Illinois becoming the 21st state in 1818, with Kaskaskia holding the title of the first state capital.


Points of interest

There are many interesting attractions along the Kaskaskia–Cahokia Trail1 which are within three Southern Illinois counties:


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaskaskia-Cahokia Trail Historic trails and roads in Illinois