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When Europeans began to explore the Illinois country, most of the Native Americans they met were members of the Illini tribe. The first of these explorers, in 1673, was a group led by Louis Joliet, a cartographer, and Pere (Father) Jacques Marquette, a french Jesuit missionary. Marquette and Joliet, accompanied by French voyageurs, paddled down the Mississippi River in search of a passage to the Pacific Ocean. On the Mississippi Bluffs, they encountered something which has become a local legend: "we saw . . two painted monsters which at first made us afraid and upon which the boldest savages dare not long rest their eyes." They learned that the creature was part bird, with the face of a man, scales like a fish, horns like a deer, a long black tail. The creature was called Piasa. A representation of the Piasa Bird is still maintained in paint on the bluffs about twenty miles from Pere Marquette State Park.

Learning from the Native Americans that the Mississippi River emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, Marquette and Joliet turned back, returning by way of the Illinois River and stopping near what is now Pere Marquette State Park. A large stone cross east of the park entrance commemorates their historic landing here.

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Pere Marquette Historic Site

When Europeans began to explore the Illinois country, most of the Native Americans they met were members of the Illini tribe. The first of these explorers, in 1673, was a group led by Louis Joliet, a cartographer, and Pere (Father)

Grafton, IL Historic Markers

Things to do near Grafton, IL

Prairie's Of Cahokia Golf Course, The

Course Access: PublicHoles: 18Reserve Advance Tee Times: 5 days...

Alfred Brown Museum

This museum contains several different types of artifacts. The museum holds the best collection of post cards from the 1904 W...

Bosshard Monument

The monument is a tribute to Swiss poet, Heinrich Bosshard, who wrote Semparcherlied here in the 1850's....

Fulkerson Mansion and Farm Museum

Col. Wm. H. Fulkerson's mansion and farm museum features Reeves steam engines and steam plows. Open for group tours only of t...