Iliniwek Village State Historic Site

Iliniwek Village State Historic Site in Clark County

Clark County, Missouri

Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 7,139. Its county seat is Kahoka. The county was organized in 1836 and named after William Clark, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and later a Governor of Missouri Territory.Clark County is part...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Missouri Department of Natural Resources

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources of the government of the U.S. state of Missouri consists of the Division of Environmental Quality, the Division of Geology and Land Survey, the Division of State Parks, the Environmental and Energy Resources Authority, and the Field Services Division....

as a state historic site

Historic site

A historic site is an official location where pieces of political, military or social history have been preserved. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have recognized with the official national historic site status...

History

Acquired by the state of Missouri in 1992, the 127-acre site has proved to be an important archaeological discovery due to its size and quality of preservation. It is considered the largest and best preserved of any Illinois Indian village. The village was occupied from approximately 1640 to 1683. During that time the village contained at least three hundred (300) lodges with an estimated population in excess of eight thousand (8,000) tribe members. Archaeological digs in the 1990s discovered numerous house foundations, storage pits and evidence of a palisade fortification. The remains of at least one tribal member were also recovered at the site, in 1998. Among smaller items found was evidence of contact with early European explorers and traders, including glass beads, metal objects, and Jesuit trade rings. The Illinois Indian tribe were the first Native Americans encountered in present-day Missouri by Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette

Jacques Marquette

Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...

, who visited the village in 1673.

The site today

Located on a high sand terrace above the Des Moines River

Des Moines River

The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...

floodplain, the site can be reached by traveling US Highway 61 to Missouri Highway 27. Travel 4.8 miles then turn east on an unmarked gravel road. A short walking trail with interpretive signage encompasses most of the historic site. Limited picknicking and restroom facilities are available. Camping is available at the nearby Battle of Athens State Historic Site

Battle of Athens State Historic Site

Battle of Athens State Historic Site is located in Clark County, Missouri along the banks of the Des Moines River. It is the site of the Battle of Athens.-History:...

, as well as any assistance needed. The unstaffed site is open year-round from sunrise to sunset, however a gate blocks vehicle traffic from November through March.

History

The site today

See also