Driving Around Cahokia Heights, Illinois in 4k Video

Filmed on Wednesday, April 23 2025, I drive around Cahokia Heights, IL to see what's going on.

Cahokia Heights was created in 2021 by combining the towns of Cahokia, Alorton, and Centreville.

The first settlement in the area was founded in 1689 as a French colony. The name Cahokia refers to a clan from the Illiniwek Native Americans who the French encountered when they settled the area.

However, nearby Cahokia Mounds burial grounds were created by Mississippian Native Americans between 900 AD-1500 AD, and there is no known connection between the Mississippian and Cahokia Native Americans.

The Cahokia Courthouse, seen in the beginning of this video, was built in 1740 as part of the French settlement.

For the next several decades, Cahokia was a large French colonial town, growing to 3,000 inhabitants. After the French lost the French and Indian War to the British in 1763, France ceded large parts of Illinois Country east of the Mississippi River. Many French speaking residents moved west across the river to territory still controlled by France.

During the Revolutionary War, Cahokia became an independent city-state when it was captured by Virginian George Rogers Clark, though it was still located in British territory. After the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Cahokia officially became part of the United States.

#drivingtour #smalltownlife #illinois