America's Story, Chicago's Stage

Long before Chicago was a city, this land was already a crossroads. In 1673, French explorers Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette paddled into what they called the "Illinois Country," setting in motion a relationship between France and America that would shape this region for more than three centuries. The missions, villages, and forts that followed laid the groundwork for what would become one of America's great states. When Illinois entered the Union in 1818, some of its most prominent founding figures were French-speaking, among them Pierre Ménard, the state's first Lieutenant Governor.

That legacy endures. Today, organizations like the Midwest chapter of the French Heritage Society and the French Heritage Corridor work to preserve the cultural and architectural inheritance of those early settlers, from historic villages like Bourbonnais to the place names, institutions, and traditions that remain unmistakably French in origin. As the United States marks 250 years of independence, The Magnificent Mile and the French Consulate in Chicago invite you to trace that shared history, from the first European settlements to the landmarks that define Chicago today.