One of the oldest colonial period sites in Illinois is Fort Massic State Park along the shore of the Ohio River in Metropolis, Illinois. It was the site of a Spanish fort built by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his soldiers to protect themselves from the local Indians around 1540. It was later the site of a remote British colonial fort. It was captured in 1778 by George Rogers Clark’s march to attack British forts along the frontier during the American Revolution. The fort was burned down during the revolution, but was rebuilt by the new American government in 1794 to help maintain an outpost on what was then the western edge of the United States.
The Louis and Clark expedition stooped at this fort in November 1803 and recruited two of the soldiers at the fort into the Corps of Discovery. Find more on the Lewis and Clark expedition stops in the area at the National Park website.
The museum at Fort Massac boasts one of the best Native American artifact collections in the state. Other displays highlight some of the trades practiced at the fort, the fort’s importance as a frontier outpost, and the region’s history.
People can walk the grounds of the restored fort, but the buildings are closed because they need to be stabilized and renovated. The park offers a good overlook of the Ohio River.
There is a state run camp ground at the site, which can accommodate larger RV campers. Find more information on this camp ground.
Find other cool places to visit in the area near this site that we wrote about:
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