History of the Grand Village

The Grand Village was established decades before the American Revolution, with earliest records dating back to 1752. The Kickapoo moved to Illinois from the north, eventually laying claim to approximately 75 percent of the state. The Grand Village was located north of the present town of Le Roy Illinois near the center of the 10 million acres occupied by the tribe. The site was along a timbered ridge, which extended from the Illinois River on the west to the Wabash River on the east at the area’s highest point, a glacial moraine. This location offered a wealth of hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering opportunities with some of the finest agricultural soils in the world and a marshland just south. Included in this well-established village were cornfields, blue grass pastures, foot race tracks, game fields and a defensive fortification.

Preservation of the Village

Following their forced removal in the 1830’s, the site of the Grand Village passed through several hands. The most recent owners of most of the original village area, Bill and Doris Emmett, were unaware of it’s significance when they purchased the land. However, they became staunch supporters for it’s protection when learning of it’s history. Plans by a neighboring landowner had been drawn for a large hog facility equipped with a sewage treatment lagoon to be placed at the north end of the village site on Kickapoo burial grounds. The Emmett’s successfully organized a group effort to prevent the hog facility and purchased the land to ensure its preservation. They have set aside 2.3 acres as the Grand Village of the Kickapoo Park in honor of the original inhabitants. One quarter of the original square mile village site is still in danger of development, but it is the hope of the Emmett’s and their support group that the entire village will eventually be preserved.

The Kickapoo Today

Currently living in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and northern Mexico the Kickapoo have exhibited a determined independence by resisting economic, political and religious doctrines of three successive invaders: French, British and American. They have retained much of their original culture including their language, and remain as one of the most traditional of the original North American tribes.