Illinois

Cahokia Mounds

Around 700 AD, Mound Builders moved in from the southeast.  Their largest city, Cahokia, grew to about 30,000 people and was the largest in North America until 1800 when Philadelphia grew that large.  Cahokia Mounds is on the U.N. World Heritage List because it is the only prehistoric Native American city north of Mexico.

Illinois ranks 25th in area among the states but 5th in population.

In 1818, Illinois became a state, beginning a time of explosive growth.  In 1825, the Erie Canal was completed, allowing easier passage from the eastern states.  In 1837, John Deere made a cast-iron plow that could rip up the hard prairie land, exposing rich soil.  In 1847, Cyrus McCormick moved his reaper business to Chicago.  In 1848, the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened, connecting Lake Michigan to the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.  By 1856, Chicago was the US's main railroad center.  By 1870, Illinois's population was 300,000.

Chicago fire of 1871

The summer of 1871 was the driest in Chicago history.  On October 8, Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over an oil lamp, the barn quickly caught fire, the fire spread and sparks flew, igniting more fires.  The air was so hot, houses burst into flame even before the fire reached them.  In all, 2,000 acres and 17,000 buildings were destroyed, 300 people were killed and 100,000 were left homeless.


The US's largest printing company is in Chicago.

Chicago skyline today

The Chicago Board of Trade is #1 in the world in commodities exchanges.

Chicago covers 8% of area of Illinois but has 75% of the state's population.

Chicago ranks #2 in the US (after Los Angeles) in Mexican-American population.  And Chicago ranks #2 in the world (after Warsaw, Poland) in Polish population.

The Illinois town of Kaskaskia is separated from the rest of Illinois by the Mississippi River and can be accessed only from Missouri.

Illinois has one of the largest concentrations in the US of Missouri Synod Lutherans.  The oldest standing mosque in the US is in Chicago.  The largest and oldest Baha'i House of Worship is at Wilmette.

Illinois's official state snack is popcorn.

Illinois ranks #1 in the US in nuclear power plants, with 13.

Eads Bridge in East St. Louis, at 6,442', was the longest arch bridge in the world when it was built in 1874.

Eads Bridge