The terms of the unethical “Whiskey Treaties” written between 1834-37 between the U.S. and Native Americans in the Great Lakes region allowed the government to relocate numerous groups of Potawatomi and other members of the Three Fires Confederacy to chosen sites west of the Mississippi River. Chief Menominee did not sign the Treaty of 1836 that was written in central Indiana, and he led a resistance movement from his village in northern Indiana that consisted of approximatel

A discovery was made recently in the archives of the DuPage County History Museum of a note belonging to early settlers of the county who arrived in the area around 1835.* The Torode family established a farm in Brush Hill, west of Chicago along Salt Creek, where the family also built a dam across the creek to power a sawmill. One of the sons of the original Torode family members wrote about his recollection of "Chief Shabony and Family," who "used to pass by our house in the

In Reminiscences of Early Chicago , John Wentworth provides an overview of the economic crisis that befell the country around 1837 due to massive land speculation in former partially settled states such as Illinois. The population growth was staggering as white settlers displaced Native Americans whose leaders had ceded land to the U.S. through treaties that were largely unethical. There also was forced removal of indigenous people due to the 1830 "Indian Removal Act," which

While Benjamin Fuller's courageous trek on horseback from New York to this area in 1834 to find land for his expanding family is a well- known aspect of the history of Fullersburg, Ben's personal attributes of proactivity and innovation are not as widely recognized. Ben was able to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing environment during the early Settlement Era by adapting to change and educating himself in order to accomplish the tasks at hand for pioneer living. George

The bronze sculpture of Jean-Baptiste Point DuSable created by Erik Blome is titled Explorer. A bronze bust of Jean-Baptiste Pointe...

Evidence suggests that Fullersburg's settlers observed Christmas with traditional holiday carols; however, their harsh living conditions....

Solar and lunar eclipses have been recognized by hundreds of Native American tribes, and the various traditions that have arisen from...

A common trait of most Native American tribes is their devotion to the gravesites of their ancestors and loved ones. The continuous...

Loie Fuller's rise to stardom as the most famous dancer in the world took a sharp upward turn in 1892 in Paris, a center for artists and...

The area west of Chicago, including Brush Hill (which became Fullersburg), experienced an influx of white settlers soon after the Black...

Who is Morell Fuller, and why should we think of him on Independence Day? Morell was an early settler of Fullersburg, Illinois, one of...

In June of 2021, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland ordered an investigation of the U.S. Federal boarding school program for...

Sauk war leader Black Hawk crossed the Mississippi River in April of 1832 with around 1,000 Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo followers who...

Imagine the emotions of Avis Blodgett, who in May of 1832 had four children under twelve years old (and one on the way) when Potawatomi...

The famous debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were surely a matter of importance to the residents of Fullersburg,...

Did the early settlers of Fullersburg have difficulty coping with frigid temperatures? Our available historical sources indicates that...

What do we know about Potawatomi Chief Aptakisic (also known as Half-Day), and why should we learn about his role in history? Aptakisic...

The village of Sauganakka was the largest Potawatomi village of DuPage County, Illinois, but this is largely an unknown fact. The former...

Was Christmas celebrated in Old Fullersburg? Were there carolers, sleigh bells and Christmas trees? Did Santa Claus make an appearance,...

Beneath the shade of the towering oak trees in Historic Fullersburg Cemetery in Hinsdale, Il. lies a humble grave of a Union soldier that...