The old Kaskaskia records

In this address Professor Alvord announced to the Chicago Historical Society that the long-lost 18th century records of Kaskaskia had been found. Kaskaskia was founded in 1700 by French Jesuit missionaries. There was little orderly government until the erection of Fort de Chartres in 1723. From that date French civil officials at the fort kept minutes and records, and from 1737 a French court in the village also was active. In this address Alvord describes the history of Kaskaskia, the history of its archived government records, and the story of their discovery. To read some of the records, see Alvord’s volume, Kaskaskia Records 1778-1790.