One of the most improtant centers of French settlement on the central Mississippi, the first European settlement of the area dates to 1699 when priests of the Seminary of Foreign Missions at Quebec built a log church dedicated to the Holy Family.  By the 1740s, it was an important trading...

One of the most improtant centers of French settlement on the central Mississippi, the first European settlement of the area dates to 1699 when priests of the Seminary of Foreign Missions at Quebec built a log church dedicated to the Holy Family.  By the 1740s, it was an important trading and agricultural center.  The area was largely depopulated after the French and Indian War, with many settlers fleeing to St. Genevieve or St. Louis to escape feared British retaliation.  Cahokia was taken by United States forces led by Captain Joseph Bowman in 1778.  Cahokia became the first seat of St. Clair County in 1787, and from 1801 to 1814 was the administrative center of a large area stretching all the way to the Canadia border.  Today, little remains of Cahokia's past glories, but it still contains several important historical sights.

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