Fort Crevecoeur Park

Fort Crevecoeur Park commemorates French explorer Robert Rene Cavalier de LaSalle’s presence here on the east bank of the Illinois River in 1680. The fort was built to protect the Illini Indians from the aggressive Iroquois Nation. The 86.6-acre park was deeded to the village of Creve Coeur in 1976 and leased to the non-profit organization, Fort Crevecoeur, Inc. The organization has since reconstructed the fort to its original dimensions and design, established a museum, and developed extensive programming for the site. The site’s nature trail loops through a bluff-ravine hardwood forest which has been entered into the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Nature Preserve program. A small but high-quality glacial drift hill prairie is located on the northwestern-most ridge of the site, and contains over 50 prairie plant species including little bluestem, Indian grass, pale coneflower, and Canada milk vetch.