Fort Beauharnois

This was the location of a French fur trading post from 1700-1745. It was the only post between Canada and St. Louis, Missouri on the Mississippi River. The Fort was under constant attack from the local Souix tribes and was later abandoned as the French needed its garrison to fight in the French and Indian War. The stone steps leading up to the place marker was believed to be the entrance of the Fort, and the open space behind it was where the fort actually stood. The French had maps of their forts to locate the general area, but since it was pillaged and burned by native tribes before settlers moved in, the approximate location was not found until archaeological evidence was discovered many years later.