Kaskaskia, Historic village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States.
Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, located entirely on an island surrounded by the Mississippi River. Access comes only through a bridge from Missouri, placing the settlement geographically west of the river and physically separated from the rest of Illinois.
Founded in 1703 by Jesuits as a mission station, the place served as the first capital of Illinois between 1818 and 1819. Flooding and the river's shifting course later caused the decline of the original settlement on the eastern shore.
The Liberty Bell of the West, a bronze bell weighing around 650 pounds and given by King Louis XV in 1741, honors the French colonial period. Visitors find the bell housed in a simple wooden structure near the church, where it still stands as a link between French and American history.
The approach leads over a bridge from Missouri, and the site offers only limited infrastructure for visitors. Those exploring the island should allow enough time and watch for weather-related changes in the river.
The Mississippi changed course in 1881 during a major flood, shifting the original village to the west side of the river. Today the island is the only territory of Illinois located west of the Mississippi and still administratively part of the state.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
