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Illinois History and Research Overview

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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW The land on which Chicago’s glittering Michigan Avenue stands was a quiet wilderness 300 years ago. Illinois’ non-Indian beginnings were along the state’s southern waterways. In 1699, French priests founded a mission at Cahokia, in what is now St. Clair County. In 1703, the French also founded Kaskaskia, now in Randolph County; it View Website VIP Subscription

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