•July 3, 2024•

by Janet Roney

I am convinced that the western branch of the Kaskaskia-Detroit Road, the most important French fur trade trail in central Illinois in the 1700s, crossed the Kaskaskia at Nelson Ford. It was the best Kaskaskia River ford between Cooks Mills and Shelbyville. No old maps show its precise route through the county, but bits and pieces of information lead to that conclusion.  

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