Fort Massac - I-24 Rest Area, Metropolis, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 37° 09.551 W 088° 40.793
16S E 350836 N 4113852
Inside the rest area tourism center is this marker.
Waymark Code: WMKKJ3
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2014
Views: 3
County of amrker: Massac County
Location of marker: I24 rest center, exit 37, Metropolis
Marker erected by: IDoT
Marker text:
Bordering the Ohio River at the border of the state, Fort Massac State park at Metropolis was dedicated as Illinois' first state park on Nov. 5, 1908
French soldiers built a small wooden fort on the site in 1757 and later named it after the French Minister of Colonial Affairs, M. deMassiac. In 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris the fort came under British control. In 1794 the fort then under U.S. control , was rebuilt and served as a customs office for the Treasury Department until 1807. Lewis and Clark stopped at Fort Massac in 1803 on the way to St. Louis and exploration of the Northwest Territories.
In 1971 the fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places and in 1973 a reconstruction version of the American fort was completed just east of the original site.
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