Prairie du Rocher, Illinois

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Prairie du Rocher, Illinois

Prairie du Rocher ("Prairie of the Rock" in French

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
) is a village in Randolph County

Randolph County, Illinois

Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 33,893. Its county seat is Chester, Illinois....
, Illinois

Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
, United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. Founded in the French colonial period

French colonial empires

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule from the 1600s to the late 1960s. In terms of land area, the Empire reached its height of 12,347,000 km? after World War One....
in the American Midwest, the community is located near bluffs that flank the east side of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
in the floodplain

Floodplain

||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}A floodplain, or flood plain, is flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a stream or river that experiences occasional or periodic flooding....
often called the "American Bottom

American Bottom

The American Bottom is a flood plain of the Mississippi River in southwestern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, to the Kaskaskia River....
".

Prairie du Rocher is one of the oldest communities founded as a French settlement that survives in the 21st century. The nearby Fort de Chartres

Fort de Chartres

Fort de Chartres was a France fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. The Fort de Chartres name was also applied to the two successive fortifications built nearby during the 1700s in the era of French colonial control over Louisiana and the Illinois Country....
, site of a French military fortification and colonial headquarters established in 1720, is now a state park and historical site.

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Encyclopedia

Prairie du Rocher ("Prairie of the Rock" in French

France

Randolph County, Illinois

Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 33,893. Its county seat is Chester, Illinois....
, Illinois

Illinois

United States

French colonial empires

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
in the floodplain

Floodplain

American Bottom

Fort de Chartres

New France

The Viceroyalty of New France was the area French colonization of the Americas by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763....
, which stretched from Louisiana

Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
and the Illinois Country

Illinois Country

The Illinois Country was the name used in the 17th century and afterwards to refer to an undefined region centered around present day southwest Illinois that was explored and settled by the French beginning in 1673, when Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette explored the Mississippi River, and France claimed the Illinois Country....
to Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
.

The population was 613 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1722 by French colonists

French colonization of the Americas

The French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued in the following centuries as France established a French colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere....
.

History

New France

In 1718, Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand

Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand

Pierre Dugu? de Boisbriand was a Canadian who commanded several areas in North America colonized by France in the early 18th Century, rising to become the fourth List of Governors of Louisiana of the French colonization of the Americas of Louisiana....
built the first Fort de Chartres

Fort de Chartres

Fort de Chartres was a France fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. The Fort de Chartres name was also applied to the two successive fortifications built nearby during the 1700s in the era of French colonial control over Louisiana and the Illinois Country....
. In 1722, Prairie du Rocher was founded by St. Thérèse Langlois, a nephew of Boisbriant. A tract of land was donated to Boisbriand by the Royal Indian Company. He was the commandant of the area. The town was located along fertile Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
bottomland and provided food to New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans metropolitan area metropolitan area, the largest metro area in the state....
and other lower Louisiana Territory

Louisiana Territory

Louisiana Territory was a historic organized territory of the United States consisting of the portion of the Louisiana Purchase that was not partitioned off into Territory of Orleans, which later became the state of Louisiana....
communities.

D'Artaguette, an inspector in the country in the early 1700s wrote:

"This country is one of the most beautiful in all Louisiana. Every kind of grain and vegetables are produced here in the greatest abundance .... they have, also, large numbers of oxen, cows, sheep, etc., upon the prairies. Poultry is abundant, and fish plentiful. So that, in fact, they lack none of the necessaries or conveniences of life.

In 1743 the territorial government granted the Prairie du Rocher Common (land used by all the villagers) to the village; the common was used until 1852. A school existed as early as the 1760s; students boarded with local families.

British Rule

Following their victory in the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War was the North American chapter of the Seven Years' War, known in Canada as the War of the Conquest. The name refers to the two main enemies of the British: the royal French forces and the various Indigenous peoples of the Americas forces allied with them....
, the British gained possession of the land east of the Mississippi, excluding New Orleans. The treaty

Treaty of Paris (1763)

The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on February 10, 1763, by the kingdoms of Kingdom of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement....
was signed in 1763; however, the British did not arrive in force until 1765. To avoid avoid British rule, many of the town's French residents fled across the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
to towns such as Ste. Genevieve

Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Ste. Genevieve is a city in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,476 people at the 2000 census. A former French colonial town, it is the county seat of Ste....
and St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
in what was now, via secret treaty

Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)

The Treaty of Fontainebleau was a secret agreement signed on November 13, 1762, in which France ceded Louisiana to Spain. The treaty followed the last battle in the French and Indian War in North America at the Battle of Signal Hill which solidified the Kingdom of Great Britain routing of the French in September 1762....
, Spanish Louisiana

Louisiana (New Spain)

Louisiana was the name of an administrative district of New Spain from 1764 to 1803 that represented territory west of the Mississippi River basin, plus New Orleans, Louisiana....
. Additionally, King George III

George III of the United Kingdom

George III was Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death....
's proclaimed

Royal Proclamation of 1763

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by George III of the United Kingdom following Kingdom of Great Britain's acquisition of New France in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War....
all the land west of the Appalachians and east of the Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
an Indian Reserve

Indian Reserve (1763)

The Indian Reserve was a Territory under Kingdom of Great Britain rule in North America set aside in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 for use by Indigenous peoples of the Americas between 1763 and 1783....
, trying to prevent settlers entering from the then-British Colonies

Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were part of what became known as British America, a name that was used by Great Britain until the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the original thirteen United States of America in 1783....
.

United States

During the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
, George Rogers Clark

George Rogers Clark

George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War....
captured Prairie du Rocher for the United States

United States

Vincennes, Indiana

The city of Vincennes is the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Indiana. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state....
. Reportedly, his campaign caused some of the remaining French settlers to emigrate to the Spanish-controlled territories west of the Mississippi, leaving relatively few in Prairie du Rocher. Many of the subsequent settlers of the area had been members of Clark's campaign, or were related to someone who was. They were convinced of the promise of the area by tales of the fertility of the soil in the area now called American Bottom

American Bottom

The American Bottom is a flood plain of the Mississippi River in southwestern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, to the Kaskaskia River....
.

Prairie du Rocher was one of the few Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
towns that eluded flood waters from the Great Flood of 1993

Great Flood of 1993

The Great Flood of 1993 was among the most costly and devastating ever to occur in the United States, with $15 billion in damages. The hydro graphic basin affected covered around 745 miles in length and 435 miles in width, totaling about 320,000 square miles ....
. After levees broke to the north near the towns of Columbia, Illinois

Columbia, Illinois

Columbia is a city located primarily in Monroe County, Illinois and partially in St. Clair County, Illinois. The population was 7,922 at the 2000 census....
and Valmeyer, Illinois

Valmeyer, Illinois

Valmeyer is a village in Monroe County, Illinois, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River. The population was 1200 at the 2006 census....
, flood waters engulfed Fort de Chartres. They were also threatening the town of Prairie du Rocher. With only the Prairie du Rocher Creek levee protecting the town, residents found themselves in a unique situation. The water that had broken through the main Mississippi River levee and was lapping at the top of the Prairie du Rocher Creek levee was actually at a level higher than the water in the main Mississippi River channel.

As a result, the Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, making it the world's largest public services engineering, design and construction management agency....
decided to use a barge-mounted shovel to break through the Mississippi River levee near Fort de Chartres, thus allowing flood waters to escape back to the Mississippi River channel. This was not enough to significantly lower the water level, but the Army Corps of Engineers decided no further action would be taken. I

n a 3:30 a.m. decision, with the flood waters lapping at the top of the sandbags that were stacked on top of the Prairie du Rocher Creek levee, all three commissioners of the Fort de Chartres - Ivy Landing Drainage and Levee District voted to use dynamite

Dynamite

Dynamite is an Explosive material based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth or another absorbent substance such as sawdust as an adsorbent....
to breach the levee in two additional locations, against the advice of the Army Corps of Engineers. These two additional openings allowed enough water to escape back to the main channel and the town was saved from flooding.

Today Prairie du Rocher is a small village with a rich history. Mainly a farming town, Prairie du Rocher still has a few reminders of that history. In addition to historic Fort de Chartres, there are several unique historic houses in the town dating from French colonial days, including the Creole House. French customs still practiced in Prairie du Rocher include La Guiannee, a custom of caroling on New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is on , the final day of the Gregorian calendar year, and the day before New Year's Day.New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day....
that has been practiced every New Year's Eve since 1722.

Geography

Prairie du Rocher is located at (38.081755, -90.096243). It is approximately 40 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
. It has an elevation of 396 feet above sea-level and is situated underneath the Mississippi River bluffs. It is located approximately 4 miles east of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
.

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
, the village has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²), all of it land.

Illinois Route 155

Illinois Route 155

Illinois Route 155 is an east-west state highway in southwestern Illinois. It runs from Fort de Chartres - outside of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois - to Illinois Route 3 in Ruma, Illinois....
is the only state highway that runs through Prairie du Rocher. It connects the town with Ruma, Illinois

Ruma, Illinois

Ruma is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 260 at the 2000 census....
, 7 miles to the northeast and Fort de Chartres

Fort de Chartres

Fort de Chartres was a France fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. The Fort de Chartres name was also applied to the two successive fortifications built nearby during the 1700s in the era of French colonial control over Louisiana and the Illinois Country....
, 4 miles to the west. Several other smaller roads connect it to various other surrounding communities.

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
of 2000, there were 613 people, 240 households, and 160 families residing in the village. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
was 1,076.2 people per square mile (415.2/km²). There were 255 housing units at an average density of 447.7/sq mi (172.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.02% White, 0.33% Native American, and 0.65% from two or more races.

There were 240 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the village the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $35,795, and the median income for a family was $44,659. Males had a median income of $31,750 versus $20,556 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
for the village was $14,771. About 9.3% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

External links

News from Randolph County

Illinois Town Cuts Levee Against Federal Advice