The American Bottom


"The American Bottom is that 60 mile strip of lowland lying between the bluffs and the east bank of the Mississippi River. Its ealiest recorded history is written in the annals of France, England, and Spain, and the wars these nations fought against each other, and against native Indian tribes for dominion of the New World.


"Following the discoveries of Jolliet and Marquette in 1673 and the exploration of LaSalle in 1682, France claimed possession of the entire Mississippi valley, extending from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Spanish Empire in the west. Here in the center of this vast expanse known as the Illinois Country, Louis XIV erected a fort and settlers from Canada and France established the village of Cahokia in 1699, and the villages of St. Phillippe, Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher, and Kaskaskia early in the eighteenth century... ."




From a sign on Illinois Route 3 to Chester.