The site of Kaskaskia near the river was long inhabited by varying Native American indigenous peoples for thousands of years.
The historic Illini peoples lived in this area at the time of European encounter and traded with the early French colonists.

French colonists named the town after the Illini word for the Kaskaskia River.
Historically it was referred to with many spelling variations, as Kasklas, Kaskasky, Cas-caskias, Kasquskias, and Kaskaskias.
In 1703, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission with the goal of converting the Illini Native Americans to Catholicism.
The congregation built its first stone church in 1714.
 The French also had a fur trading post in the village.
Canadien settlers moved in to farm and to exploit the lead mines on the Missouri side of the river.

Favorably situated on a peninsula on the east side of the Mississippi River, Kaskaskia became the capital of Upper Louisiana and the French built Fort de Chartres nearby in 1718.
 In the same year they imported the first enslaved Africans, shipped from Santo Domingo in the Caribbean, to work as laborers in the lead mines being developed in Missouri.

From the years of early French settlement, Kaskaskia was a multicultural village, consisting of a few French men and numerous Illinois and other American Indians.
In 1707, the population of the community was estimated at 2,200, the majority of them Illinois who lived somewhat apart from the Europeans.
Writing of Kaskaskia about 1715, a visitor said that the village consisted of 400 Illinois men, "good people;" two Jesuit missionaries, and "about twenty French voyageurs who have settled there and married Indian women."
 Of 21 children whose birth and baptism was recorded in Kaskaskia before 1714, 18 had mothers who were Indian and 20 had fathers who were French.
One devout Catholic full-blooded Indian woman disowned her mixed-race son for living "among the savage nations," as she referred to the French.

Many of the Canadiens and their descendants at Kaskaskia became voyageurs and coureurs des bois, who would explore and exploit the Missouri River country for fur trading.
 The Canadiens had the goal of trading with all the Prairie tribes, and beyond them, with the Spanish colony in New Mexico.
The Spanish intended to keep control of the latter trade.
The Canadien goals stimulated the expedition of Claude Charles Du Tisne to establish trade relations with the Plains Indians in 1719.

King Louis XV sent a bell to Kaskaskia in 1741 for its church, one of several constructed there.
During the years of French rule, Kaskaskia and the other agricultural settlements in the Illinois Country were critical for supplying Lower Louisiana, especially New Orleans, with wheat and corn, as these staple crops could not be grown in the Gulf climate.
Farmers shipped tons of flour south over the years, which helped New Orleans survive.

The French settlers raised Fort Kaskaskia around 1759; the fort stood atop the bluff that looked down upon the frontier village.[1] "Fort Kaskaskia" is not technically a "fort", but an earthen redoubt.
Frontier settlers throughout Woodland North America often built such redoubts as defensive moves during times of threat from Native Americans.

In 1763, the French ceded the Illinois country, including Kaskaskia and the redoubt, to Great Britain.
The British did not use the redoubt and left Kaskaskia almost defenseless.
Kaskaskia continued to exist as a French-speaking village on the Mississippi River frontier.
Rather than live under British rule after France ceded the territory east of the river, many French-speaking people from Kaskaskia and other colonial towns moved west of the Mississippi to Ste.
Genevieve, St. Louis, and other areas.
The site of Kaskaskia near the river was long inhabited by varying Native American indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The historic Illini peoples lived in this area at the time of European encounter and traded with the early French colonists.
French colonists named the town after the Illini word for the Kaskaskia River. Historically it was referred to with many spelling variations, as Kasklas, Kaskasky, Cas-caskias, Kasquskias, and Kaskaskias. In 1703, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission with the goal of converting the Illini Native Americans to Catholicism. The congregation built its first stone church in 1714.  The French also had a fur trading post in the village. Canadien settlers moved in to farm and to exploit the lead mines on the Missouri side of the river.
Favorably situated on a peninsula on the east side of the Mississippi River, Kaskaskia became the capital of Upper Louisiana and the French built Fort de Chartres nearby in 1718.  In the same year they imported the first enslaved Africans, shipped from Santo Domingo in the Caribbean, to work as laborers in the lead mines being developed in Missouri.
From the years of early French settlement, Kaskaskia was a multicultural village, consisting of a few French men and numerous Illinois and other American Indians. In 1707, the population of the community was estimated at 2,200, the majority of them Illinois who lived somewhat apart from the Europeans. Writing of Kaskaskia about 1715, a visitor said that the village consisted of 400 Illinois men, "good people;" two Jesuit missionaries, and "about twenty French voyageurs who have settled there and married Indian women."  Of 21 children whose birth and baptism was recorded in Kaskaskia before 1714, 18 had mothers who were Indian and 20 had fathers who were French. One devout Catholic full-blooded Indian woman disowned her mixed-race son for living "among the savage nations," as she referred to the French.
Many of the Canadiens and their descendants at Kaskaskia became voyageurs and coureurs des bois, who would explore and exploit the Missouri River country for fur trading.  The Canadiens had the goal of trading with all the Prairie tribes, and beyond them, with the Spanish colony in New Mexico. The Spanish intended to keep control of the latter trade. The Canadien goals stimulated the expedition of Claude Charles Du Tisne to establish trade relations with the Plains Indians in 1719.
King Louis XV sent a bell to Kaskaskia in 1741 for its church, one of several constructed there. During the years of French rule, Kaskaskia and the other agricultural settlements in the Illinois Country were critical for supplying Lower Louisiana, especially New Orleans, with wheat and corn, as these staple crops could not be grown in the Gulf climate. Farmers shipped tons of flour south over the years, which helped New Orleans survive.
The French settlers raised Fort Kaskaskia around 1759; the fort stood atop the bluff that looked down upon the frontier village.[1] "Fort Kaskaskia" is not technically a "fort", but an earthen redoubt. Frontier settlers throughout Woodland North America often built such redoubts as defensive moves during times of threat from Native Americans. 
In 1763, the French ceded the Illinois country, including Kaskaskia and the redoubt, to Great Britain. The British did not use the redoubt and left Kaskaskia almost defenseless. Kaskaskia continued to exist as a French-speaking village on the Mississippi River frontier. Rather than live under British rule after France ceded the territory east of the river, many French-speaking people from Kaskaskia and other colonial towns moved west of the Mississippi to Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, and other areas.
Kaskaskia, Illinois