Starved Rock

This was the site of Fort St. Louis, erected by the French traders LaSalle and Tonti in 1682. For the following ten years Fort St. Louis was the center of French influence in Illinois. According to tradition, a band of Illinois Indians was besieged here in 1769 by northern tribes seeking to avenge the murder of the Ottawa Chief Pontiac. Stranded on the Rock and unable to secure provisions, the Illinois band died of starvation. The site became known as Starved Rock from that legend.