What used to be adjacent to the Mississippi River, Fort de Chartres is located roughly four miles west of the village of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois. The original fort that was Fort de Chartres deteriorated after the banks of the Mississippi consumed the fort piece by piece. The recreation of the fort lies further away from the Mississippi river today, and is as of 2016 not a complete rendition of how the site was. Fort de Chartres was also not a single fort but a succession of four forts. The recreation of the fort today is of the last Fort de Chartres that was built on the banks of the Mississippi River. This French fort played a key role in governing the local natives and being a means of meeting between different groups. The square-like
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The first fort was made of mostly wooden structures and served as a military presence over the Fox natives that lived in the area. The Fox Indians were said to be an issue for the French and the French settlers that lived in and around the Illinois Country of the Louisiana Territory. After river flooding destroying the wooden forts that were constructed, French decided the location was of such importance for military presence and trading relations that they decided to erect the stone fort made of local Illinois limestone. The fort never made any significant impact in any major wars, for it was only in service for the French about ten years after the completion of its construction. The British were given control of the fort by the French through the Treaty of Paris in 1763, but they found little use of the fort and abandoned it later in 1771 (Illinois Historic Preservation Agency par …show more content…
The real militaristic implications the fort had was against the Fox or Renard Natives of the area, “who frequently made predatory incursions in the neighborhood of the French settlements” (Wallace par 12). Outside of the issues with the Fox, French were looking for economic advantages of having the fort in Illinois Country. Before the stone fort was built, the French realized, “the region failed to yield precious metals… Profitable deposits of lead had been found on the west bank of the Mississippi. More importantly, rich bottom land produced bountiful crops that made the region Louisiana’s breadbasket” (Illinois Historic Preservation Agency par 4). This changed the minds of the French to look less into the quick profit of precious metals and more into the valuable implications of rich soil. Ultimately Fort de Chartres this somewhat of a midpoint because, “France wished to connect its Gulf Coast settlements with those in the St. Lawrence Valley (“French Creole Corridor” page 8). This connection point not only creates a means of French trade between the north and south of the new world, but while
The first fort was made of mostly wooden structures and served as a military presence over the Fox natives that lived in the area. The Fox Indians were said to be an issue for the French and the French settlers that lived in and around the Illinois Country of the Louisiana Territory. After river flooding destroying the wooden forts that were constructed, French decided the location was of such importance for military presence and trading relations that they decided to erect the stone fort made of local Illinois limestone. The fort never made any significant impact in any major wars, for it was only in service for the French about ten years after the completion of its construction. The British were given control of the fort by the French through the Treaty of Paris in 1763, but they found little use of the fort and abandoned it later in 1771 (Illinois Historic Preservation Agency par …show more content…
The real militaristic implications the fort had was against the Fox or Renard Natives of the area, “who frequently made predatory incursions in the neighborhood of the French settlements” (Wallace par 12). Outside of the issues with the Fox, French were looking for economic advantages of having the fort in Illinois Country. Before the stone fort was built, the French realized, “the region failed to yield precious metals… Profitable deposits of lead had been found on the west bank of the Mississippi. More importantly, rich bottom land produced bountiful crops that made the region Louisiana’s breadbasket” (Illinois Historic Preservation Agency par 4). This changed the minds of the French to look less into the quick profit of precious metals and more into the valuable implications of rich soil. Ultimately Fort de Chartres this somewhat of a midpoint because, “France wished to connect its Gulf Coast settlements with those in the St. Lawrence Valley (“French Creole Corridor” page 8). This connection point not only creates a means of French trade between the north and south of the new world, but while