Fort de Chartres – Prairie du Rocher, Illinois
The oldest building in Illinois, a massive stone fort called Fort de Chartres, which was built by French colonists in 1753. The fort served as the seat of government during the French rule. After viewing Fort de Chartres, tour the nearby well-preserved sites that were established from Chester to Cahokia by Illinois’ earliest European settlers.
Fort de Chartres is the last of three eighteenth-century forts by that name erected near the Mississippi River by France’s colonial government. From 1720 to 1763 French administration of the Illinois Country was centered at the forts, built successively over a 40-year period on or near the same site. The stone fort, built in the 1750s and abandoned in 1771, has been partially reconstructed to provide a glimpse of life in Illinois under the French regime. Fort de Chartres State Historic Site, which also preserves the archaeological remains of the earlier wooden forts, is managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
Open: Monday – Sunday 9 – 5
Closed New Years Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Columbus Day, General Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Location: 1350 State Rte. 155, Prairie du Rocher
Phone: (618) 284-7230
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