USA > Illinois > Randolph County > Memoirs of a French village : a chronicle of old Prairie du Rocher, 1722-1972 > Part 1
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ILL. HIST. SURVEY
977.392 F126m
5/5-74
Memoirs of a french Village a Chronicle of old-
Koche
Prairie
1722-1972
T.F. Faller
1722-Prairie Du Rocher's 250th Year-1972
STATE BANK OF PRAIRIE DU ROCHER
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URCANA-CHAMPAIGN ILL. HIST. SURVEY
2.
POWDER MAGAZINE FORT DE CHARTRES
PHONE (618) 284-3440 - PRAIRIE DU ROCHER, ILL.
Member F.D.I.C.
JIFFY PRINTERS, CHESTER, ILLINOIS
Del. But. I
977.392 F 126m
INTRODUCTION
It could be said that a land without ruins is a land without memories. It fol- lows that a land without memories is a land without a history. A people and place that tread light on the souls of the dead and vanished days is said to be timeless.
The history of Prairie du Rocher is an intriguing one. It is hoped that this at- tempt will stimulate further interest, and spark a comprehensive review of this timeless town.
As Edited and Recorded by THEODORE P. FADLER
This needs to be used with Caution! N.M. Belling
* CONTENTS *
I. The dawn of civilzation (primitive)
II. Early migration: Fort Chartres
III. The early church and effects
IV. Social life of Early Settlers
V. Indians and Climate
VI. Horses and cattle introduced
VII. Early Crops and flowers
VIII. Early French Government
IX. Jean St. Theresa Langlois
X. Early legal transactions
XI. Census XII. Education
XIII. Commons
XIV. Of general interest
XV. Prairie du Rocher today
XVI. Comment
THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION
The violent days were over in the great American Bottom. The ocean bid farewell to the Mississippi region. When man came, he saw what had happened. He marvelled. Here was a fertile valley between walls of carved limestone, marble, and sandstone.
Primitive man was compelled by environmental factors in determining a habitat. The first man (people) came to Prairie du Rocher because of the rock bluffs. The bluffs offered man hope. By this time the great river no longer predominated the whole valley; however, man could never be sure of it's channel. Since floods were common, he hesitated to dwell far from the high ground lest he fall prey to the unpredictable river.
Small villages grew up in the shadow of stone. It was cold; bitterly cold. An ingenious man, some (10,000) years ago built a fire beside the rock bluff. Once the huge mass of rock was heated, it reflected warmth to the huddled villages. The fire became a necessity for survival. By this measure, man survived in the Ice Age.
Ashes from these fires can be excavated today.
this apte
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entirely
Reconstruction of the Modoc Rock Shelter and surrounding area about 4000 B.C.
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nampsville
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Archaic Family Group living in the Modoc Rock Shelter about 4000 B.C.
Red Bud
Chicago
Rumo
RANDOLPH
Prame du Rocher
Evansville
Modoc
COUNTY
....
Ellis Grove
MODOC ROCK SHELTER
Kaskaşkıo
.....
Chester
East St Louis
St Louis
Prawie du Rocher
MODOC ROCK SHELTER
Carbondoje
Corro
Location of the Modoc Rock Shelter
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Barbeau School.
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WERVILLE
The location of the Modoc Rock Shelter showing its proximity to Barbeau Creek, the river bottoms, the bluff and upland areas.
ii
The first inhabitants of new Prairie du Rocher were primitive, dark-skinned, mild, un. daunted, and adverse to war. They left neither written literature nor imperishable monu. ments.
It may be interesting to note that the Prairie du Rocher area was inhabitated while what we now know as Chicago was covered by a Glacier.
430
425
Estimated Original Ground Surtoce
420
15
415
27658 C.
34258 G
4
-10
410
A
4
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3367 BC
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504280
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1956 Excavation
1952.'53. 8 '55 Excovotions
SECTION
Legend· Bluff.
JLimite of Excavation 1, 2, 5, 6 4 -Physical Strata 2765 8 C Radiocobon Ootes
430- 395' Elevation Above Sea Level ( AT)
0-25 Depth below estimated Original Ground Surface
Scale In Feet 0 0
25 50
Idealized cross-section of the Modoc Rock Shelter area showing the relationship of the physical strata at the site.
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410
=== 4065
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HIGHWAY
MODOC ROCK SHELTER Randolph illinois
LEGEND
0 10 20
30
40
50
Scale in Feet
True North.
Magnetic Declination 4º45'E.
= 410.6
Contour Interval is 1 foot @ Highway ROW marker Bluff
J Limit of excavations
Area excavated into Stratum 1.
---
-· - Approximate limit of Overhang
Dotum is mean sea level (Modac BM39| Renault Quad ) Surveyed and drawn by Bettye Broyles & ML.Fowler.
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Contour map of the Modoc Rock Shelter showing the areas of excavation.
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429
County
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LEGEND
Bluti and Rocks
20
Stratum
1
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Stratum 2
22
Stratum 3
Disturbod Areas
23
Animal Burrow
24
Ash Beds and
Burned Areas
25
Moltled and
Discoloroú Areas
26
B'
Section of southwest profile of the 1956 excavation showing the physical strata.
Early Migration: Fort de Chartres
The history of Prairie du Rocher is richly mingled with the early history of Fort de Chartres and the Catholic Church. To gain an insight to pre-settlement days one must turn back the calendar to the year 1682, when La Salle beached an expedition at the mouth of the Mississippi for King Louis XIV of France. La Salle secured the fleur de lis, and claimed the territory on the Illinois and Mississippi sides of the river for France. Later, La Salle interested the king in building a series of forts linking the French colonial terri- tories in Canada and Louisiana.
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Aerial view of Fort de Chartres State Park, Randolph County, Illinois.
La Salle at the Mouth of the Mississippi.
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Louis XIV, King of France
Originally, the Illinois Country was under the jurisdiction of the Canadian province of Quebec, but in 1717 it was transferred as a district to the province of Louisiana. The first commandant of the Illinois Territory was Pierre Duque Boisbriant who arrived in December of 1718 with orders to govern the country and erect in the Mississippi a bastion to forestall possible aggressions of the English and Spanish as well as to protect the settlers from hostile Indians. With alacrity he started to build the most pretentious in the chain of forts along the Mississippi, Fort Duc de Chartres -. named in honor of the regent of France. This palisaded log fortification, completed in 1720 and located on the river about sixteen miles northwest of Kaskaskia, served as the headquarters of the civil, the mili- tary and the marine government of the Illinois Territory.
radl
Shortly after the completion of the fort, a village -- Nouvelle Chartres .. . grew nearby. Settlers from Canada and France, confident of protection, arrived and clustered near the fort. They wondered whether the native Indians could be trusted. While the local Metcha. . gamia tribe in the vicinity of the fort proved to be anything but warlike, in 1729, the Nat- chez Indians, provoked by the tyranny and greed of the French commandant, Chobart -- incited a conspiracy against the French. Massacres were frequent. In 1736 the garrison of Fort Chartres marched against the Chickasaw Indians, who threatened to cut Communi- cations between the Illinois Country and the city of New Orleans.
The focal point of this little French community of Nouvelle Chartres was the parish church of St. Anne du Fort de Chartres.
Fort Chartres was the creation of the Company of the West, or Mississippi company, which was organized by the celebrated John Law, in August, 1717, immediately after the surrender by the Sieur Antoine Crozat of his patent and privileges in Louisiana to the
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French crown. This commercial company and its early successor, the Royal India Company, held away in the province of Louisiana, of which Illinois formed a part for fourteen years.
The ruins of Fort de Chartres with powder magazine intact.
Company of the Was!
On the 9th of February, 1718, three ships of the Western Company . the Dauphin, Viri- lante, and Neptune - arrived at Dauphin island with officers and men to take possession of Louisiana. On one of these vessels, or on the frigate La Duchesse de Noailles, which arrived at Ship island on the 6th of March following, came Pierre Duque de Boisbriant, a French Canadian, who had been commissioned first king's lieutenant for the province of Louisiana, and who was the bearer of a commission appointing his cousin, LeMoyne de Bienville, governor and commandant general of the province, in place of M. L'Epignoy removal.
HENRY O'HARA
Henry O'Hara and his family, consisting of his wife, Margaret Brown O'Hara, and ten children, left Fredrick County, Maryland, in the latter part of 1811 and moved to Nelson County, Kentucky. His children, born in order here named, were: Mary, Amellia, Cather- ine, James, Thomas, Samuel, Henry, Sarah, John, and Charles. The family lived on a farm in Kentucky for six years, and in the fall of 1817 set out by wagons for the State Illinois. Arriving in Illinois, they lived during the winter of 1817 in the Mississippi bottom, south of Cahokia, and in the spring of 1818 moved on a farm four miles below Prairie du Rocher, along the bluff, where they resided until 1819, then moved six miles north to claim No. 1284, survey No. 611, and from that time the place was known as the O'Hara Settlement. When Henry O'Hara left Kentucky he bought, in Beardstown, the works of their clock, and when he was established in his home, O'Hara Settlement, he had the case built at Kas- kaskia and the clock works placed in it.
After the death of Henry O'Hara, Sr., which occurred in June, 1826, the clock became the property of his eldest son, James O'Hara. James O'Hara continued to reside on the homestead until his death, which occurred April 8, 1884, he being 84 years and 5 months old.
By will of James O'Hara, his youngest son Charles became the owner of the clock. This clock has, during all the years from the time it was first put in operation up to the present time, been a true and reliable timekeeper and has not been remodeled or rebuilt.
By will of Charles O'Hara, his eldest son Henry became the owner of the clock.
Residence of Henry T. O'Hara, Ruma
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Mr. Henry T. O'Hara
Mrs. Henry T. O'Hara
In the early part of October, 1718, Lieutenant Boisbriant, with several officers and a considerable detachment of troops, departed by bateauz (boats) from Biloxi, through lakes Pontchartrain and Maureeas and up the Mississippi to regulate affairs in the Illinois coun- ty and to establish a permanent military post for the better protection of the French in- habitants in their northern district of the province. Arriving at Kaskaskia late in December of that year he established his temporary headquarters, which was the first military occu- pation of the village. This however, was continued for only about 18 months.
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Having selected what was considered a convenient site for his post, some 18 miles above and to the northwest of Kaskaskia, de Boisbriant thither a large force of mechanics and laborers to work in the forest.
In the spring of 1720 they had built and practically completed the fort, which was hence forward the headquarters of the company and commandants and the center of both civil and and military authority in Illinois.
NO
The fort stood on the alluvial bottom about 3/4 of a mile from the Mississippi River and near to an older fort that had been erected by the adventures under Crozat. Midway between it and the bluffs on the east extend a bayou of lake which was supposed to add to the strategic strength of the place. It was named Fort de Chartres presumably in complyment to the Regent of France, from the title of his son, the Duc de Chartres.
The fort was built of wood and was a very considerable size, but whether it was fur- nished with bastions or not is uncertain. It is described as a stockade fort, fortified with earth between the rows of palisades. Within the enclosure were erected the commandants house, the barracks, the large storehouse for the company, etc., the same being construc- ted of hewed timbers and ship-sawed planks.
Although not a strong fortification, except as against Indian attacks, it was made to answer for a full generation the needs of its builders and its commandants who success-
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fully ruled here. It formed, moreover, an important link in the lengthened chain of French post stretching from eastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The idea of this long line of military and trading posts appears to have originated in the fertile brain of that explorer, Robert Cavelier' Sieur de la Salle. Poor maintenance and frequent flooding caused this fort to be abandoned. In 1732, a second wooden fort was built about one-half mile north of Fort No. 3. By 1747, the second fort was virtually useless because of rotting timbers. The impending signs of war with England pointed out the need for something more sub- stantial. Therefore, the third fort, of stone, was started in 1753.
Last Relic of Fort Chartres. The Powder Magazine
France lost the French and Indian War in 1763. But because of the trouble with the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, the British renamed Chartres -- Fort Cavendish. After a severe flood in 1772, Fort Cavendish/Chartres was abandoned forever.
CURRENT PROGRAMMING AT FORT DE CHARTRES
Since the Interpretive Program was started at Fort de Chartres a little over two years ago, many changes have occurred at the park. The Visitor Center/Museum has been re- vamped and plans have now been submitted for its expansion into the present Park Ran- ger's residence when the Ranger has been relocated in a nearby house. The expanded Center will have more informative and participatory exhibits, through which visitors can utilize all their senses, not just sight and touch.
Plans have also been drawn up for the refurnishing of the Guard's House with replica period pieces based on available data of the original fort. Completion should take about two years. The Priest's Lodge is already refurnished. Restoring and furnishing buildings
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This summer, in addition to the Third Annual Rendezvous to be held June 17 and 18, archaeological work will be continued. Last year an Indian village north of the stone fort was excavated, and there was some preliminary exploration of the site of the first wooden fort. This year a six weeks' archaeological dig will be conducted in the Powder Magazine and surrounding bastion. Archaeologists will be searching for remains of wall supports in the bastion to aid in the proposed restoration of the wall, evidence of a stone floor buried under the present wood floor in the Magazine, the location of a possible well site in front of the Magazine, and the location of one of the fort's latrines. Also, it is hoped that the artifacts found in the excavation will shed additional light on the culture of the 18th cen- tury French and British soldiers once stationed here.
Our French herb garden has been expanded this year to include twenty-one varieties of herbs in use by the 18th century French in this area. An herb booklet explaining the varied uses of these herbs will be available to the public at the Visitor Center.
At present, the Visitor Center hours are 9:30 - 5:00 Wednesday through Sunday. When additional interpretive staff are hired. the Center will be open seven days a week. Guided tours are available Wednesday through Friday, by pre-arrangement only, for groups of fifty and under. To arrange for a guided tour, call 284-7230 Wednesday through Sunday. On Sat- urday and Sunday, tours are regularly scheduled for the public at 11:30 and 2:00. Those wishing to take a self-guided tour may obtain a tour booklet in the Visitor Center when- ever it is open.
CHARLES O'HARA
Charles O'Hara was born October 24, 1849. He lived here all his life, with the excep- tion of five years, when he lived in St. Louis. He was one of the best known and highly respected men of Randol ph County. His death occurred January 23, 1915.
He was married to Miss Ellen Carter of Hecker, Ill., on October 7, 1878. To this union were born eight children, two dying while quite young. The six surviving children are three sons and three daughters, as follows: Henry T., Lucy, James P., Stella J., William L. and Isabell O'Hara. He also leaves his two brothers and two sisters.
His wife died January 9, 1908, and since then he made his home on the home place and in St. Louis.
Charles O'Hara
Mrs. Charles O'Hara
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JAMES R. O'HARA
James R. O'Hara, the retired merchant, was born July 29, 1841, on the old homestead, near Ruma, Ill. After receiving his education in the parochial and public schools he at- tended the Christian Brothers College in St. Louis. After leaving school he worked on the farm for his father until 1867, when he bought a farm in Monroe County. In 1872 he sold his farm and went to Ruma and erected the store property; one year later he entered the general merchandise business. Later he again bought a farm of 120 acres near Ruma. In 1916 he retiredfrom the merchandise business, and rented his farm. He has learned the valuable lesson in life -- to be contented.
His father, James O'Hara, was born in Maryland and came to Ruma in 1818, just a lit- tle prior to admitting Illinois into the union. He was one of the pioneers of Southern Illi- nois. He died in 1884.
James R. O'Hara married, November 27, 1874, Miss Margaret Kaveny, and the present family numbers four children -- one son, Chas. A. O'Hara; three daughters, Mary Eliza- beth, Kathrine E. and Rose M. O'Hara.
Mr. O'Hara is a Democrat, and served the community as postmaster for twelve years and as notary public for eight years.
Mrs. O'Hara (nee Kaveny) was born February 11, 1858, in St. Louis, Mo. Her parents moved to Litchfield, Ill. At the age of 17 years she came to Ruma, Ill., to teach the first parochial school, and taught here from 1875 to 1877, when she was married.
James O'Hara
Mrs. James O'Hara
James R. O'Hara
Mrs. James R. O'Hara
F. M. BRICKEY AND FAMILY
F. M. Brickey, the well known capitalist, was born November 10, 1860, in Prairie du Rocher, Ill. He attended the public schools, then went to St. Louis in 1873 and entered the St. Louis University, until 1878, and later was a student in the Jesuit College. He began business in 1881. After leaving school he learned the trade of miller. By industry and dili- gence he steadily advanced, became assistant miller and then head miller. He became so proficient that he could assume any position in the mill. He worked here, associated with his father, he bought wheat. In 1892 his father died and he became his successor and operated the mill until 1906, when he sold the mill to Schoening & Koenigsmark Milling
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Company. Since then he devoted his time to the drainage of land and building it up. He owns many acres of rich land in the vicinity of Prairie du Rocher, within seven miles of town. He is also part owner of the Prairie du Rocher Lumber Company and F. M. Brickey and Company, general merchandising.
Mr. Brickey was married to Miss Emily J. Glad September 29, 1891. Of this union were born three children: Lorina B., Alvina P., and Edythe M. Brickey. Mr. Brickey was trea- surer of the Prairie du Rocher Common schools and also treasurer of the village. Politi- cally he is a Democrat.
The residential property of Mr. and Mrs. Brickey and family is a beauty spot of Prairie du Rocher and covers about four acres of land. Their residence is modern and up-to-date, complete in every respect, having hot and cold water system, electric light plants and all the modern improvements. The well-kept lawn, the fine shrubbery, makes this place one of the finest in Southern Illinois.
Mr. Brickey, having studied music in college, is a lover of music. He organized a band in 1881 and by his untiring efforts led the band, and to this day plays in the band. Mr. Brickey has private telephone lines. He is a member of the Hoo Hoo Order. His children have finished school at Forest Park University, St. Louis, Mo.
Mrs. Brickey was born March 13, 1868, in St. Louis, Mo. In 1872 Mr. and Mrs. Fr. Glad and family moved to Prairie du Rocher, where Mr. Glad became engineer in the mill and worked for the milling company for a quarter of a century. Mrs. Brickey (nee Glad) attended the parochial and public schools, and married September 29, 1891. She is an ideal help- mate to her husband, and not only looks after the domestic side but ofttimes assists in office work.
F. M. Brickey
Mrs. F. M. Brickey
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Miss Lorina B. Brickey
Miss Alvina P. Brickey
(These biographies were taken from various sources and are all written in the present tense.)
FRANKLIN W. BRICKEY
Two years prior to Missouri's admission into the Union, October 16, 1819, Franklin W. Brickey saw the light of day in Potosi, Mo. He attended the public schools and at the age of 19 he came to Illinois. In 1838 he started in business at Fort Chartres, supplying steam- boats with wood and general merchandise. Enterprising and with great foresight he became interested in the Red Bud Mill. In 1858 he erected the present mill at Prairie du Rocher, and at that time his property in Fort Chartres had been swept away by high water. He af- terwards started the general merchandise store in Prairie du Rocher. At the solicitation of Mr. Brickey, Abe Lee, a companion became his partner and remained so until 1867, when he sold his interest to Mr. Brickey, who operated the mill until his death, December 12, 1892, when his son, F. M. Brickey, succeeded in business.
Mr. Brickey twice married. His first wife was Emily Connor. His second wife was Sarah J. Brightwell. The Brickey family consisted of three sons - J. C. Brickey, F. M. Brickey and Thomas C. Brickey, and one daughter, Belle Brickey. 4
MR. AND MRS. M. H. PALMIER
M. H. Palmier was born June 5, 1877, near Prairie du Rocher, Ill. He attended the paro- chial school and after leaving school worked for his father until 1893, then he went to Prairie du Rocher and worked until 1897, when he went to Red Bud, Ill., and was clerking in the hotel and cafe. It was here he met his wife (nee Miss Dillie Miller) and married
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here January 28, 1901. Four children bless their home, viz: Phillip D., Berthram J. L., Wilmarth M., and Goldie A. Palmier.
For a short time he engaged in the liquor business in St. Louis, but finally returned to Prairie du Rocher, and in 1908 purchased the present property. In 1908 he erected the new up-to-date building containing a large hall, salon and billiard room, saddlery, barber shop. Mr. Palmier is also owner of a fine residence which he had erected on a large lot 140 x 148 feet.
Mr. Palmier is a public-spirited citizen, politically a Democrat and served the public in the capacity of village treasurer in 1906, 1909, 1911, 1912; was elected on the village board and is still a member. He is well and favorably known to the community, always ready to assist in advancing the interest of the people. He was one of the instigators of the new electric light plant and enjoys the reputation of having an up-to-date place.
Mrs. M. H. Palmier, who is daughter of A. G. Miller, for a number of years marshal of Red Bud, was born December 12, 1883, in Red Bud, Ill.
M. H. Palmier
Mrs. M. H. Palmier
Palmier's Hall and Cafe, Prairie du Rocher
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The Early Church and Effects
St. Joseph Church, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, was established in 1722 as a chapel dependent upon the royally endowed church of Ste. Anne at Fort Chartres. King Louis XIV of France had dreamed of a great French empire in Mid America, but died before he could bring his dream to reality. Following his death in 1715, the regent, Philip of Orleans, rul- ing for the boy King Louis XV, comissioned Pierre Duque Boisbriant to found Fort Char- tres in 1718 on the mighty Mississippi, midway between Quebec and New Orleans, to be the capital of the new French empire in Mid America. The fort was named after the Duc de Chartres, son of the regent, and was the functioning capital of the Illinois country, then a French possession.
St. Joseph's Church. Prairie du Rocher, Ill
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St. Joseph's. Prairie du Rocher
From the beginning of the fort a church was established in the village of Nouvelle Chartres outside the walls. It was staffed by two Jesuit priests, Father Le Boullenger and Father De Beaubois, who cared for the spiritual needs of the soldiers garrisoned at the fort, and the French families of the area surrounding the fort.
Soon the swampy condition of the soil near the fort prompted some of the French sett- lers to move to higher ground at the foot of the picturesque rock bluffs. Jean St. Therese Langlois, the nephew of Pierre Duque Boisbriant, commandant of the king, received from his uncle the commandant, a grant of land for a village beneath the bluffs. They called it "La Belle Prairie du Rocher," namely, "The Beautiful Meadow Beneath the Rock."
A chapel of logs in what is the present and original cemetery was erected for the con- venience of the people, so that they would not have to travel the muddy three miles to Ste. Anne at the fort. In 1734 this small chapel was replaced by a larger log church. A similar chapel was established at St. Philipe near what is now Renault and Harrisonville, and was called Our Lady of the Visitation. The river washed away completely the settle- ment and chapel at St. Philipe. In 1765, two years after all the rest of the Mississippi valley had been surrendered to the British, Fort Chartres likewise surrendered.
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