The are was first discovered by Louis Jolliet, a Canadian explorer and the French-born Jesuit Jacques Marquette in 1673. The first permanent settlement was founded in 1781 by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, an African American from Santo Domingo. It quickly became popular as a trading post as the Mississippi river connected to Lake Michigan.

The city had reached a population of 300,000 by 1870. In 1871 just one year later disaster struck with the Great Chicago Fire which flattened the city in ashes. The fire destroyed about 17,450 buildings. Chicago quickly rebuilt the city, and reconstructed with modern materials, and created space for new industrial and commercial buildings. The world’s best architects poured into the city during the 1880s and 90s to take advantage of the situation.
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Illinois became a U.S. state on December 3, 1818 as the 21st state. Illinois is believed to derive from an Indian word and French suffix, meaning “tribe of superior men”. Others believe that he Illiniwek Federation which was the major native American tribe in the area. With the arrival of French explorers notably Louis Joliet in the 17th century, they referred to this as Illinois. Illinois became part of the French Empire until 1763. The City of Joliet Illinois was named after Louis Joliet.

Noted events in the state’s history include the influx of settlers shortly after the creation of the Erie Canal in 1825. The amazing rise of Abraham Lincoln from farm laborer to president. In 1884, the Home Insurance Building in Chicago was the first metal frame skyscraper in the world it was 10 stories high. Walt Disney was born in Chicago in 1901.
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