French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliette's famed expedition landed them in Illinois Country in 1673, land occupied by Native Americans for more than a century. This website traces the history of Illinois Country from 1673 through Illinois statehood in 1818.

Still under construction, a wealth of primary and secondary source materials are currently available. More than 100 texts and 500 images shed light on prominent themes in Illinois history: African-American Experience, Economic Development and Labor, Frontier Settlement, Law and Society, Politics, Religion and Culture, Women and Gender, and the Black Hawk War. A narrative history of "the Indian Experience" provides useful historical context and 15 videos address topics such as Jesuit Relations and the fur trade.