Excerpt from History of Stephenson County, Illinois, Vol. 1: A Record of Its Settlement, Organization, and Three-Quarters of a Century of Progress

The first flag of a civilized people to wave over the prairies Of Illinois; was the flag Of France. The French explorations from the mouth of the St. Law rence, up that river, over the Great Lakes, over the portages, down the Illi nois, and on the waters of the Mississippi, have no rival in the history Of the world. From the discovery of the St. Lawrence in 1534 and the settlement of Champlain, in 1608, French love of romantic daring, determined patriotism-and religious zeal never flagged till the whole of the Mississippi valley was made known to the civilized world. The work of exploration was carried on to Lake Michigan. It was then taken up by these wonderful men: Marquette, Joliet, Hennepin, Allouez, Tonti and La Salle. In birch bark canoes, they went up and'down the Wisconsin, Illinois, the Rock River and the Mississippi, trading with the Indians, preaching Christianity to them, establishing trading posts and planting here the flag of France. La Salle built Fort Crevecoeur near Peoria, in 1680, and in 1683, fort St. Louis, between Ottawa and La Salle. French settlements were established at Cahokia and at Kaskaskia. French settlers came from France and from New Orleans. In 1720, Fort Chartres was built on the Mississippi between Kaskaskia and Cahokia. In 1750 there were eleven hundred French in Illinois about Kas'kaskia and three hun dred negroes and sixty red slaves. The negro slaves were brought into Illi nois as a result of edicts by Louis XIII and Louis XIV. The officers in Illi nois' then were a commandant and a civil judge. There was no representative government.

The European wars between France and England spread to America. Eng lad won America at the battle of Quebec, in 1759, and Illinois and Stephenson County passed from France to England by the Treaty of Paris, 1763. The dream of a great French empire was gone forever and the French flag gave away the banner of Great Britain.

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