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Ring in the Fourth of July in Kaskaskia, IL
By Samuel P. Wheeler | July 3, 2009
40th Annual Independence Day Program July 4 at Kaskaskia Bell
KASKASKIA ISLAND, IL – For the 40th time Americans will ring in the Fourth of July this year, with a programmed celebration to mark another type of ringing in a 306-year-old Illinois community west of the Mississippi River.
The 40th annual Independence Day Celebration is planned for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4, 2009, at the Kaskaskia Bell State Historic Site on Kaskaskia Island. On that date in 1778 after George Rogers Clark and his troops occupied Kaskaskia without firing a shot during the Revolutionary War, the bell was rung for freedom. King Louis XV of France gave the bell to the church of Kaskaskia in 1741. The bell has become known as the Liberty Bell of the West; it is eleven years older than the Eastern Bell.
Dr. Samuel P. Wheeler, a Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Professor of Illinois History, will give the principal address, ‘“A Glorious Theme’: Abraham Lincoln and the Fourth of July” Don Welge, President of Gilster Mary-Lee Corp. of Chester, Illinois, will give opening remarks as master of ceremonies at the hour-long patriotic ceremony, which is free and open to the public. Randolph County Circuit Clerk Barb Brown will make special introductions. Reverend Dave Corrigan, S. J. will give the Invocation and Benediction. Other remarks will be made by Military Veteran Danny James; Emily Lyons, Registrar, Liberty Bell of the West Chapter, NSDAR and Curator, Randolph County Archives & Museum representing Kaskaskia Island residents; Kenneth Ragland, Commander of the Chester V.F.W. Post 3553; Roland Wagner, Commander of the Chester American Legion Post 487; Mayor Joe Eggemeyer of Chester; Mayor Deborah Gahan of Perryville, Missouri; and Linda McDonald of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
The Chester Municipal Band directed by Steve Colonel will perform patriotic music, Deb Hoelscher will sing patriotic selections Taps will play in memory of our Patriots. Since the Liberty Bell of the West cannot be rung, the 1874 church bells next door will be rung by Joan Lightfoot Riegel, and her four children, Paul, Larry, Connie, and Edith, to signify that freedom is still alive for the American people.
Area Boy and Girl Scouts, as well as French Marines from nearby Fort de Chartres State Historic Site commanded by Bill McKnight, will also participate in the ceremony. Visitors, please bring lawn chairs, although some chairs will be provided under tents.
The Chester V.F.W. and American Legion Posts, the City of Chester, the Kaskaskia Church Foundation, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency are sponsoring the Independence Day Celebration.
The historic Immaculate Conception Church located near the Kaskaskia Bell will be open during the event. Refreshments including a plate lunch will be available before and after the program. A 3:30 p.m. mass will be celebrated in the church.
Kaskaskia Bell State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is located on a 14,000-acre island a half mile above the Chester, Illinois, Bridge. It was once physically connected to the State of Illinois, but a devastating flood in 1881 covered the village that was Illinois’ first state capital and caused the Mississippi River to change course, thereby separating the island from the rest of the state. 2009 marks 200 years since Kaskaskia became the capital of the Illinois Territory, with Governor Ninian Edwards presiding.
A small brick building on Kaskaskia Island today houses the 650-pound bell that was cast in France as a gift to the French who first settled Illinois. Exactly two years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the “Liberty Bell of the West” rang out to celebrate the capture of Kaskaskia, the westernmost military action of the Revolutionary War, by Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark. Twenty-five years later in 1803 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (brother of George Rogers Clark) visited here and added men and supplies for their Expedition of Discovery.
To reach the Kaskaskia Bell, take the river bridge from Chester, Illinois, across the Mississippi River. Take Missouri Highway 51 west to Highway H, then north (right) to St. Mary, Missouri, and turn east onto the new bridge at the Kaskaskia Bell marker and follow the signs.
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