Randolph County ILGenWeb
This township was the site for the ruins of Fort Gage and Riley's Mill.
John Montgomery, Joseph Anderson, John Dodge, John Doyle, David Pagon, M. Augustus, James Curry and Levi Teel founded Ellia Grove about 1780. Indians attacked Curry and Teel, Teel was killed. Later Curry and Joseph Anderson went hunting and never returned. In 1795 James Pillars along with sons John and Richard settled near Ellis Grove in Sec 17. Mrs. Pillars was the widow of Thomas Hughes. When the Hughes family set out for IL from IN, Indians killed Thomas Hughes. The Pillars family came to IL in 1783. John Pillars died in 1851 and his brother Richard died in 1844 near Little Mill.
New Palestine (Florence) was located in Sec 19 and 24. A post office was est. in 1888 and closed in 1904. The ME Church was organized in 1835. Walter Smith opened a store and Theodore Nordburg ran the Stage stop. There was also a blacksmith shop, school and another church. Today there may be a few houses that remain.
Diamond Cross was located in Sec 26 just SW of New Palestine. The post office was est. in 1870 and closed in 1888. Not much is known of this village or exactly where it was located. It was known to have a store, tavern, blacksmith shop and several houses.
Riley's Lake or Mill (Pagets Mill) was located in Sec 34, it is also located on the old French Survey #859 just north of Fort Kaskaskia. A post office was est. in 1905. Riley's Mill started out as Pagets Mill before 1709. Indians killed Paget in the mill; his head was thrown in the grain hopper. In 1795 General Edgar bought the mill using it until 1812 when it began to fall to ruin. Selling it in 1832 to a Mr. Feaman and then he sold to Daniel Riley in 1842. Mr. Riley remodeled the mill making it steam and began using it again. The town grew around the mill. There was stockyards, a ferry, wool and coal yard. John Fink owned a store, as did Vernon W Campher. A wagon factory was also located here. A G Leavell operated a grain elevator it finally closed in 1938. When the RR came in it built an embankment in town so as to be above the floodwaters. After this the town began to decline. Today it is completely gone except the old Riley Inn, in the 1970's Jewel Menard owned the land.
Kaskaskia this is the original settlement and fort, which are no longer there. For settlement info on Kaskaskia (which is on the island see T7 R7)
Fort Gage wasn't actually a fort. In 1771 General Gage abandoned Fort Chartres and built the first Fort Gage in the old abandoned Jesuit mission at Kaskaskia (this being the first). This fort was washed away by a flood. There was a fort on top of the bluff, which the French had but burnt in 1766 to prevent the British from taking. Under the bluff the town of Fort Gage was located, on the old French survey #859. It is in Sec 32. There was a Catholic church, post office, two stores, two taverns a blacksmith, wagon maker, wheelwright and about 40 houses. This is where Pierre Menard built his mansion. By the 1840's and 50's the German's moved into the town and replaced the Catholic church with a Lutheran one. One of the citizens from Fort Gage was Louis William Rodenburg, a blind poet.