Kaskaskia, Illinois
Aug. 17th, 2013 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogKaskaskia, Illinois is the first capital of the state of Illinois. It precedes the second capital, Vandalia, and the third and current, Springfield.
It is also the only part of Illinois that lies west of the Mississippi River. In the 19th century, the melting of a tremendous ice jam on the river one spring released such a torrent of water that the Mississippi rerouted itself to a new channel, cutting off Kaskaskia.
I'm fascinated by this town because it's such a powerful reminder of the ways towns and regions are reshaped by forces of history. Once, the Mississippi was the heart of the transportation network of huge regions of the country. But after the steamboats came the railroads, the cars, and the airplanes. The progression of the technology of transportation reshaped the face of the country, leaving remembrances like Kaskaskia behind.
The early history of this area has to do with the French Immaculate Conception Mission in the 1700s. This explains these street names, the like of which you don't often see in the United States.
You can tell by the nature of the construction here that the flood of 1881 was not the only time this town has been threatened by flood waters.
This bell has seen a great deal of history pass by from its home in Kaskaskia. It was cast in 1741 as a gift to the Immaculate Conception Mission from Louis the XV of France. Though not nearly so well known as its more famous conceptual cousin in Philadelphia, it's called the Liberty Bell of the West.
There aren't a lot of things this old in this country!
Another look out toward the Mississippi River from the site of the first capital of Illinois. How greatly things change!
It is also the only part of Illinois that lies west of the Mississippi River. In the 19th century, the melting of a tremendous ice jam on the river one spring released such a torrent of water that the Mississippi rerouted itself to a new channel, cutting off Kaskaskia.
I'm fascinated by this town because it's such a powerful reminder of the ways towns and regions are reshaped by forces of history. Once, the Mississippi was the heart of the transportation network of huge regions of the country. But after the steamboats came the railroads, the cars, and the airplanes. The progression of the technology of transportation reshaped the face of the country, leaving remembrances like Kaskaskia behind.
The early history of this area has to do with the French Immaculate Conception Mission in the 1700s. This explains these street names, the like of which you don't often see in the United States.
You can tell by the nature of the construction here that the flood of 1881 was not the only time this town has been threatened by flood waters.
This bell has seen a great deal of history pass by from its home in Kaskaskia. It was cast in 1741 as a gift to the Immaculate Conception Mission from Louis the XV of France. Though not nearly so well known as its more famous conceptual cousin in Philadelphia, it's called the Liberty Bell of the West.
There aren't a lot of things this old in this country!
Another look out toward the Mississippi River from the site of the first capital of Illinois. How greatly things change!
