I recently took off on a whim to drive half-way across this great nation of ours; to clear myself of stress and problems, and to see places I've never seen before. One stop was to Fort Defiance Park in Illinois.
Fort Defiance has lots of history. Located at the confluence of two of America's greatest rivers, the Ohio and Mississippi, this track of land was a military fortification during the Civil War. It made for a perfectly, strategic army and naval location for the Union forces. It was constructed immediately after Lincoln declared war, to supply equipment to the troops.
The location of Fort Defiance has also been studied by archaeologists. Native Americans also knew the benefits of the tip of this peninsula for their warfare.
The first European to come to this place was Louis Hennepin, a French Explorer, back in the 17th century. Lewis and Clark spent a few nights here on their way to the official starting point of their historical expedition.
Unfortunately, this park is not a very friendly place for the eyes. It is run down. The grass and weeds are very high, with snakes hiding about. The trash cans are overflowing with trash from years ago. The road through the park is almost impassible in some places. The observation deck looking out over the two rivers is littered with trash and graffiti.
I asked a couple, the only other people there during my presence, if it has always looked like this. The past few years it has, I was told. The flood waters make maintenance of the park very costly. It was once an Illinois state park, but was given to the city of Cairo for upkeep. Obviously Cairo hasn't been doing a good job.
Very upsetting to see history be swept away in ruins.
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