I went down to the southern tip of Illinois, right to the banks of the Ohio River. Charles and I went and visited Fort Massac Park; in 1908, it became Illinois first state park. The historic site is a replica of the 1802 American fort that was on site. The historic fort area contains 2 barracks, 3 block houses, officer quarters, well, stockade along with a fraise fence. The site also has the archaeological outline of the 1757 French Fort. There is also a visitor’s center along with a museum area.
This fort was originally built by the French in 1757 during the French and Indian War and was called Fort De L’Ascension. Later it was renamed Massiac in honor of the then French Minister of Colonial Affairs, and came under fire only once, when unsuccessfully attacked by a group of Cherokee.
This fort was originally built by the French in 1757 during the French and Indian War and was called Fort De L’Ascension. Later it was renamed Massiac in honor of the then French Minister of Colonial Affairs, and came under fire only once, when unsuccessfully attacked by a group of Cherokee.
The French abandoned the fort after the war and was 
burned to the ground by the Chicasaws, Captain Thomas Stirling, commander of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment took control of the site but did not rebuild the fort. They did rename it “Massac”, however. Not rebuilding was a mistake as Colonel George Rogers Clark led his “Long Knives” regiment into Illinois at Massac Creek (1778) and was able to capture Kaskaskia, 100 miles to the north, without firing a shot-thus taking the entire Illinois Territory for the State of Virginia and the fledgling United States. President Washington ordered the fort to be rebuilt.
The fort has been rebuilt other times as well; eventually a reconstruction of the fort was built in the early 1970’s off site and was based on the 1794 American fort. In fall of 2002, the fort was used to create a replica of an 1802 American fort. The original archeological outline of the fort is right nest to the replica site.
The thing I really liked was the people who were there. They were pretending to be people from that era living in the fort, dressing up and using items from that time. Charles and I climbed up into a watch tower and took some pictures. It was pretty high up there, but I wasn’t scared. We even took pictures with a lady there and Charles’ son Wyatt and I went up into one of the buildings for some pictures, it was great. I enjoyed my adventures at the fort, even though we didn’t fight any British, French or Indians. Oh well, maybe next time.
burned to the ground by the Chicasaws, Captain Thomas Stirling, commander of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment took control of the site but did not rebuild the fort. They did rename it “Massac”, however. Not rebuilding was a mistake as Colonel George Rogers Clark led his “Long Knives” regiment into Illinois at Massac Creek (1778) and was able to capture Kaskaskia, 100 miles to the north, without firing a shot-thus taking the entire Illinois Territory for the State of Virginia and the fledgling United States. President Washington ordered the fort to be rebuilt.The fort has been rebuilt other times as well; eventually a reconstruction of the fort was built in the early 1970’s off site and was based on the 1794 American fort. In fall of 2002, the fort was used to create a replica of an 1802 American fort. The original archeological outline of the fort is right nest to the replica site.
The thing I really liked was the people who were there. They were pretending to be people from that era living in the fort, dressing up and using items from that time. Charles and I climbed up into a watch tower and took some pictures. It was pretty high up there, but I wasn’t scared. We even took pictures with a lady there and Charles’ son Wyatt and I went up into one of the buildings for some pictures, it was great. I enjoyed my adventures at the fort, even though we didn’t fight any British, French or Indians. Oh well, maybe next time.
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