FRENCH ILLINOIS

Païs des Illinois = "Country of Illinois."

French Map of Païs des Ilinois, 1717. Note the French spelling of ILINOIS.

The current state of Illinois became Païs des Illinois, a county of Virginia [New France] in 1673. Virginia ceded the territory, thus becoming the Illinois Country in 1778.

FRENCH FORTS IN ILLINOIS (1673-1778)

1680 - Fort Crèvecoeur, Creve Coeur, Peoria County
1682 - Fort Saint Louis du Rocher, North Utica, La Salle County
1691 - Fort Pimiteoui, Peoria County (Fort Crèvecoeur)
1720 - Fort de Chartres, Randolph County
1729 - Fort Le Pouz, Joliet, Will County
1757 - Fort Massac, Massac County
1759 - Fort Kaskaskia, Randolph County

A Summary of French Influence in Illinois.

Did "Fort Chécagou," a French Fort, really exist at the mouth of the Chicago River?

Exploring Seventeenth Century "Païs des Illinois," the Illinois Country.

French Chicago During the Eighteenth Century.

French Life in the Illinois Country, from Canada to Louisiana, in the 1700s.

Henri de Tonti and his Connection with what would become Illinois. (1650-1704)

History of the Illinois Country from 1673-1782.
History of Indians in the Illinois Country.
Illiniwek Tribes History from the Illinois Country through the Mid-1830s

Illinois, a Brief History Beginning Around 12,000 B.C.

Jean-Gabriel Cerré's success in the French and British régimes in the Revolutionary War.

Kickapoo and Meskwaki (Fox) Tribes History in the Illinois County.

Life in Post-Colonial Illinois for French Women and Families.

Lost Towns of Illinois - Old French Village - Today's Peoria.

Marquette and Jolliet French Exploration of the North American Interior, 1673.

Philippe de Rocheblave, a French Military Opportunist in the Illinois Country.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle's ship, 'Le Griffon' reportedly found in Lake Michigan

Starved Rock Massacre of 1769 - Fact or Fiction.

The 1711 French Settlement is the beginning of today's Peoria, Illinois.

The 1730 Arrowsmith Battlefield of the Meskwaki (Fox) and French in McLean County, Illinois.

The History of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois.

The Illinois Confederacy in the Illinois County of Virginia (1673-1778) into the Mid-1830s.

The Martin-Boismenue House, East Carondelet, Illinois.

The Very First Frenchman in Southern Illinois Turned out to be a Poacher.