Kaskaskia, IL

Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, on the west side of the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted 21 residents. An historically important town, it was a mission and settlement by the French in Illinois Country in the early 1700s. Most of the town was destroyed by flooding in April 1881 when the Mississippi River shifted eastward to a new channel, taking over the lower 10 miles of the Kaskaskia River. That mix gives Kaskaskia a clear local shape within Illinois, with older layers still visible in current places. The local scoop is a place whose streets, landmarks, and institutions keep its earlier story close to the present. This resulted from deforestation of the river banks during the 19th century, due to crews taking wood for fuel to feed the steamboat and railroad traffic. However, the village comprises only a small part of Kaskaskia Precinct, which includes all of Randolph County's land west of the Mississippi.