[Illustration: Old Fort Chartres on the Mississippi River] Old Fort Chartres on the Mississippi River John T. Faris Prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County 1955 [Illustration: Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County] One of a historical series, this pamphlet is published under the direction of the governing Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL CITY OF FORT WAYNE _Mrs. Sadie Fulk Roehrs_ _B.F. Geyer, President_ _Joseph E. Kramer, Secretary_ _W. Page Yarnelle, Treasurer_ _Willard Shambaugh_ PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD FOR ALLEN COUNTY The members of this Board include the members of the Board of Trustees of the School City of Fort Wayne (with the same officers) together with the following citizens chosen from Allen County outside the corporate City of Fort Wayne: _James E. Graham_ _Mrs. Glenn Henderson_ _Mrs. Charles Reynolds_ FOREWORD The following publication, which narrates the fortunes of Fort Chartres in Illinois, originally appeared as chapter XII in THE ROMANCE OF FORGOTTEN TOWNS by John T. Faris. The publishers, Harper & Brothers, have graciously granted permission to reprint the chapter. The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County present this account with the feeling that it is an important part of our heritage and with the hope that it will be interesting and informative to Library patrons. More than two centuries ago there was an astonishing bit of feudal France on the banks of the Mississippi River. It was called Fort Chartres by those who chose the location near the southern extremity of the fertile American Bottom, which extends from a point nearly opposite the mouth of the Mississippi River nearly to Chester. On the Bottom there were a number of French villages noted both for the military prowess of the residents and for the sleepy, Old World life of these residents among the Indians, with whom they were on friendly terms.