Pierre Menard Home State Historic Site — Attraction in Illinois

I would love to have toured this home. It's a shame that it's closed and showing the effects of weather and time on this historic structure. Besides being the first Leut. Governor of Illinois, he was the grandfather to Lucien Maxwell. Maxwell was the trapper on the John C. Fremont expeditions of the west. He was a close friend of Kit Carson. The two of them helped establish Rayado, a community on the Santa Fe Trail just south of Cimarron, NM and the Philmont Scout Ranch. In fact, Philmont manages and gives tours of Rayado. Maxwell's house is still standing. Many of the historic structures in Cimarron such as the grist mill were built by Maxwell who moved to Cimarron. He held the greatest contiguous amount of land. Once he sold that, he bought Fort Sumner (NM) from the federal government. This is where Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid. It's also where Oliver Loving, the real-life inspiration for Robert Duvall's character Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove died of gangrene after an ambush by Commanches near Carlsbad, NM. Lucien Maxwell was born in Kaskaskia and was very likely to have been influenced by his grandfather who was a fur trader from Quebec. Lucien's parents and grandfather are buried in the nearby Menard Cemetery en route to the historic Fort Kaskaskia. You can walk around this home site. It's...

This is a beautiful French Creole House that used to be located within the boundaries of Kaskaskia. The guide was very knowledgeable and knew a lot about both the House and the family. They have some pictures of Kaskaskia that I have never seen before in the basement museum. The house itself really needs some restoration work done on it. Unfortunately the state has been unwilling to spend much money on it during the past years and has let it end up in its...

Went here today (13 Jun 2024), and it was open and the guide took us all around the property. We didnt think it was open as the "office" is under the front porch in a small door, easy to miss! Absolutely delightful tour and history lesson of the local area. The main floor of the house where all the old furniture/artifacts are located has a/c, a welcome relief today.... Donations accepted. Will...