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Each year, Fort de Chartres State Historic Site hosts the largest rendezvous in the Midwest with over a thousand participants, hundreds of encampments, and thousands of visitors joining in on the festivities. Based on the traditional French fur trapper’s rendezvous where trappers and traders would meet at a predetermined location to trade furs for necessities, the rendezvous was the highlight of the fur trapper’s year and is the highlight of Fort de Chartres’s extensive calendar of historical events and activities.
The Annual Rendezvous at Fort de Chartres offers participants and visitors alike a glimpse into the period from 1740-1840, a part of Illinois’ past when it was governed not only by France but by Great Britain and the United States as well. Costumed reenactors portray a variety of personas including colonial military units, mountain men, Native Americans, settlers, merchants, and more. Historical demonstrations are located at various locations on the grounds and there are periodic demonstrations that include period music, military drills, and musket and cannon competitions.
As Fort de Chartres is an Illinois Historic Preservation Agency site, there is a wide variety of interpretive activities that can be found throughout the grounds. These activities run continuously throughout both days. In the Native Crafts area, visitors can learn first hand the arts of bow and arrow making, hide tanning, basket weaving, the use of native foods and herbs, pottery, the construction of wigwams, and the history of how and why the fur trade became such an important frontier industry. There are also archery demonstrations and competitions.
The Colonial Area features demonstrations that include spinning, dyeing, the use of looms, woodworking, weaving, quilting, rope making, coopering, and blacksmiths. Located in the Fort buildings themselves are a French Patron (River Boatman,) a French Marines quarters, a Jesuit missionary in the Fort's Chapel, and the Piethman Museum. A French Colonial garden, oxen, and baked goods for sale from a working stone oven can be found near the demonstration areas. Throughout the grounds are demonstrations by independent merchants illustrating their skills, and displaying and selling their creations.
Fort de Chartres began as a French military outpost. The reconstructed stone fort represents the third fort built by the French, the first two wooden forts having been destroyed by the Mississippi River. It was this stone fort that the French turned over to the British in 1765 after the end of the French and Indian War. The British abandoned this fort, moving their territorial headquarters to the nearby town of Kaskaskia. The abandoned stone fort was visited by George Rogers Clark during his expedition during the Revolutionary War. Representing this military tradition are a number of military reenactment units and marching bands representing all three colonial powers. Rifle, musket, and artillery competitions are all part of the scheduled programs.
Period music can be found at any time during the event. A center stage is set up within the fort and features various musical groups throughout the day. Many of these groups can be found entertaining visitors throughout the grounds when they are not featured on the main stage. In addition marching military bands with drums, flutes, bagpipes, and other instruments can be seen patrolling the grounds.
Hundreds of tents, teepees, and other primitive shelters become the weekend home for the over one thousand reenactors who come to Fort de Chartres from across the country. Visitors can gain a lot of insight into the life styles of the fur trapping era by exploring the Primitive Camp. The reenactors are a friendly bunch and are happy to talk about the specifics of their camp and the personas they portray. Sutlers, merchants, and trade blankets are located throughout the grounds selling many period related goods that are only available at this type of event.
Times: 10 am - 5 pm each day
Small Parking Fee
For more information call 618-284-7396
or visit the Friends of Fort de Chartres events webpage
