Kaskaskia-Cahokia Trail
Columbia
The Kaskaskia-Cahokia trail, considered the first road in Illinois, linked all the French colonial villages in the Illinois Country, a route that Illinois Rt. 3 roughly follows today.
Local historian, Dennis Patton was urged by the Monroe County Genealogy Society and the Columbia Historic Society to meet with the Monroe County Tourism Board to discuss efforts to utilize the many restoration projects that had developed over the Old Kaskaskia‐Cahokia Trail. Mr. Patton conducted thorough research on the trail and restoration projects which has led to a crafted manuscript and a presentation delivered various times this spring. All of this has provided the citizens of St. Clair, Monroe, and Randolph Counties with an accurate and in‐depth history of their communities, as well as GPS coordinates of the trail, which maps out significant historical sites and resources for visitors and citizens to enjoy. There has been a positive impact on Cahokia, Dupo, Prairie due Pont, Columbia, Waterloo, Burksville, Renault, Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher and Kaskaskia as the research and media on the trail spread through newspapers, online articles and word of mouth; bringing the much needed tourism dollars into these communities.