Prairie du Rocher, Illinois

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Prairie du Rocher is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 613 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1722 by the French and its name roughly translates to "land under the rock" in French.

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[edit] Geography

Prairie du Rocher is located at 38°4′54″N, 90°5′46″W (38.081755, -90.096243).GR1 It is approximately 40 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri. It has an elevation of 396 feet above sea-level and is situated underneath the Mississippi River bluffs.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 613 people, 240 households, and 160 families residing in the village. The population density was 415.2/km² (1,076.2/mi²). There were 255 housing units at an average density of 172.7/km² (447.7/mi²). 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 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 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.

[edit] History

Prairie du Rocher was founded in 1722 by French soldiers from nearby Fort de Chartres. A tract of land was donated to Pierre Dugue Boisbriant, the commandant and builder of Fort de Chartres, by the Royal Indian Company. The town was located under the fertile Mississippi River bluffs and provided food to New Orleans and other lower Louisiana Territory communities.

FORT DE CHARTRES

The oldest building in Illinois, a massive stone fort called Fort deChartres, was built by French colonists in 1753. The fort served as the seat of government during the French rule. After viewing Fort deChartres, tour the nearby well-preserved sites that were established from Chester to Cahokia by Illinois' earliest European settlers.

It is claimed to be the oldest town to continunally exist in Illinois. The only two older towns in Illinois - Kaskaskia and Cahokia - were each abandoned at some point during their history.

The fertility of the Mississippi bottom lands in this area attracted settlers early in the eighteenth century. The territory was under French rule and in 1718 Pierre Duque, Sieur de Boisbriant, commandant of the Illinois country, was sent to erect a permanent military post. The First Fort de Chartres was completed in 1720. Built of wood and exposed to the Mississippi floods, the fort had to be rebuilt in 1727 and 1732. In 1753 construction of a new fort built of stone and farther inland begun under the direction of Francois Saucier. When it was completed in 1756 it was considered one of the finest forts in North America. The British gained control of the area in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris and in 1765 took possession of the fort which they renamed Fort Cavendish. They destroyed the fort in 1772 when the encroaching Mississippi waters necessitated its abandonment. It had served as the seat of civil and military government in the Illinois country for over half a century. The partially reconstructed fort is a state memorial west on Illinois I55. Prairie du Rocher, the small French village four miles east of the fort, was founded in 1722 by St. Therese Langlois, nephew of Boisbriant. The Prairie du Rocher Common (land used by all the villagers) was granted to the village by the territorial government in 1743 and was used until 1852. Prairie du Rocher, 'Field of the Rock,' remains a picturesque village where French Christmas and New Year's customs are still observed.

Following the British victory in the French and Indian War, many of the town's French residents fled across the Mississippi River to towns such as Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis to avoid British rule.

George Rogers Clark captured Prairie du Rocher for the United States of America during the American Revolutionary War in his campaign that eventually resulted in the capture of Vincennes, Indiana.

Prairie du Rocher was one of the few Mississippi River towns able to escape the flood waters from the Great Flood of 1993. After levees broke to the north near the towns of Columbia, Illinois and Valmeyer, Illinois, flood waters engulfed Fort de Chartres. They were also threatening the town of Prairie du Rocher itself. 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 higher level than the water in the main Mississippi River channel. As a result, the Army Corps of Engineers decided to break through the Mississippi River levee near Fort de Chartres using a barge-mounted shovel to allow the flood waters to escape back to the Mississippi River channel. Unfortunately, this was not enough to significantly lower the water level and the Army Corps of Engineers decided no further action would be taken. In 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 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.

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. Besides nearby Fort de Chartres, there are several unique and historic houses in the town, including the Creole House.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Verhovek, Sam. "The Midwest Flooding; Illinois Town Cuts Levee Against Federal Advice." New York Times. 5 August 1993.


Flag of Illinois Municipalities and Communities of Randolph County, Illinois
(County Seat: Chester)
Cities, Towns and Villages Baldwin | Chester | Coulterville | Ellis Grove | Evansville | Glenn | Grigg | Kaskaskia | Menard | Modoc | Percy | Prairie du Rocher | Red Bud | Rockwood | Ruma | Schuline | Sparta | Steeleville | Tilden | Walsh | Welge | Wine Hill
Precincts Baldwin | Blair | Bremen | Brewersville | Central | Chester | Coulterville | Ellis Grove | Evansville | Kaskaskia | Palestine | Percy | Prairie du Rocher | Redbud | Rockwood | Ruma | Sparta | Steelville | Tilden | Wine Hill
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