Press Release - Thursday, May 08, 2025
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Fort de Chartres to host 55th annual Rendezvous June 7-8
SPRINGFIELD - The Fort de Chartres Rendezvous, a popular annual tradition in Randolph County, will take place June 7 and 8 at the Fort de Chartres State Historic Site.
Rendezvous hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 7, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 8. Highlights include a flintlock muzzleloader shooting competition; period food, drink, and entertainment; artisan and craft demonstrations; 18th-century children's games; militia and military events; and more.
The Rendezvous is free and open to the public. Special event parking is available for $10 per car. Donations are welcome. The site is at 1350 Illinois 155, about four miles west of Prairie du Rocher. The event is hosted by Les Coureurs des Bois de Fort de Chartres and sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which manages the site, and Les Amis du Fort de Chartres.
The Fort de Chartres State Historic Site marks the location of the last of three successive forts named "de Chartres" built by the French during their 18th-century colonial occupation of what today is Illinois. The third fort, erected in the 1750s, served as the French seat of government and its chief military installation in the Illinois Country.
The historic site features an imaginative reconstruction of portions of the third fort and was declared a National Historic Landmark in the 1960s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
For more information go online or call 618-284-7230.
About IDNR
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is celebrating 100 years of conservation and service to the people of Illinois throughout 2025. The department was established July 1, 1925, as the Illinois Department of Conservation, bringing under one umbrella oversight of fish and game, forestry, public works, and lakes.
Today, IDNR's work encompasses management of about 400 sites across Illinois, including state parks and historic sites; wildlife, fisheries, forestry, and natural heritage; Lake Michigan water allocation and coastal management; conservation police; mines and minerals; oil and gas; issuance of licenses, permits, and numerous grants; the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta; and the Illinois State Museum. Visit https://dnr.illinois.gov for more information.
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