Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Illinois' only United Nations World Heritage Site. This 2,200-acre site preserves the central section of the largest prehistoric Indian city north of Mexico. An Interpretive Center presents a coherent account of this sophisticated prehistoric culture. Climb Monk's Mound, see the film and life-size village. Don't miss annual events that focus on Native American culture.

CITY: Collinsville

Fort de Chartres State Historic Site

This former French military stronghold has been partially rebuilt and turned into a museum. Regular living history events shed light on colonial life in Illinois, and include 18th-century crafts, food, music, hundreds of historically dressed participants, flintlock rifle and musket contests, cannon and mortar competitions, traders and much more. There are also guided tours of the 1800 Creole House, which was designed in the French-American Transitional Architecture style.

CITY: Prairie du Rocher

World's Largest Catsup Bottle

This 170-foot-tall bottle that resembles a Brook's Catsup Bottle served as a water tower for the catsup manufacturer after being constructed in 1949. A popular roadside attraction, it makes for a great photo op.

CITY: Collinsville

Bob's Civil War Fort

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Germantown is a Civil War Fort. There is a jail, civil war cannons, a stage coach, a livery, log cabins, and much more.

CITY: Germantown

National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows

The Shrine has 200 beautifully landscaped acres of gardens and devotional areas, including the Outdoor Amphitheatre, Shrine Church, Lourdes Grotto, Stations of the Cross, Millennium Spire, the Visitors Center with a restaurant and gift shop, and the Shrine Hotel.

CITY: Belleville

Dr. Poos Home - Heritage House Museum

Built in 1888, this home was occupied by Dr. Robert Poos, a local practitioner and druggist. Dr. Poos was also the staff physician at the Springs Hotel and Bath House, later known as the Okawville Original Springs Hotel.

CITY: Okawville

Gateway Geyser Fountain

As the world's tallest fountain, the Gateway Geyser Fountain reaches 627 feet in height, and is centered in a pond that holds five million gallons of water.

CITY: East St. Louis

Schneidewind Barn Museum

Hundreds of interesting items amassed over a lifetime are housed in this unique gallery that was formally a working farm barn.

CITY: Marissa

Marissa Academy Museum and Coal Miners Monument

Memorabilia celebrating the city's growth from a coal mining town to the present makes this an interesting stop.

CITY: Marissa

The Mermaid House

The beautiful house is an example of an 1830s hotel. Charles Dickens once visited there in 1842 while researching a book he wrote on prairies in America.

CITY: Lebanon

Rex's Museum

A Lionel train set shares space with a Li'l Abner Dogpatch Band windup toy and British toy soldiers. Antique collectibles, clothing, glassware, a mule deer antler chandelier, and many more unusual items fill the 2,000 sq. ft. "extra room" added onto the house.

CITY: Waterloo

Heritage House Museum

Three properties -- Dr. Poos Home & Medical Museum; the Frank Schlosser Home, which includes a turn-of-the-century house, barn, harness shop, and commercial laundry; and the Joseph Schlosser Home -- make up the Museum complex.

CITY: Okawville

The Creole House

The house, built in 1800, is an example of French and American architecture.

CITY: Prairie du Rocher

Collinsville Historical Society Museum

Local and world histories are combined in these exhibits.

CITY: Collinsville

Creole House

This Lower Mississippi-style house was built in the early 1800s, and has been completely restored to reflect life during this period.

CITY: Prairie du Rocher

Coal Museum

A quilt from the Civil War, coal mining memorabilia, and more are located in the Marissa Academy Building, formerly a two-year prep school built in 1867.

CITY: Collinsville

Jarrot Mansion

The subject of intensive historical interest, the Mansion is probably the oldest brick house in the state of Illinois. It was built in 1810 by Nicholas Jarrot, who was a native Frenchman and landowner in Cahokia.

CITY: Cahokia

Berger-Kiel Log House

The log house gives a glimpse into local life in the 1800s. While at the park, visit the refurbished caboose and passenger train.

CITY: Mascoutah

Bellefontaine House

Meriwether Lewis is reported to have stayed here. It is home to some of the earliest settlers in Illinois (1782) and was named by the French for a spring located on the beautiful site.

CITY: Waterloo

Emma Kunz House

Visitors are invited to walk through this home, considered to be the oldest Greek Revival-style home in Illinois.

CITY: Belleville

St. Clair County Historical Society Museum

This Victorian adaptation of a Greek Revival home was built in the early 1800s. In addition to period furniture and vintage clothing, artifacts, and quilts, the museum contains an extensive research library and gift shop.

CITY: Belleville

Rock Mill and Museum

The entire village of Maeystown is on the historic register with much of the history preserved in the museum.

CITY: Maeystown

Alfred Brown Museum

This museum has a large collection of post cards from the 1904 World's Fair, a drum from the civil war, Native American artifacts, old uniforms, and school artifacts.

CITY: Sparta

Labor & Industry Museum

The Labor & Industry Museum is the only public institution devoted to the history of the labor and industry of Belleville and southwestern Illinois. The centerpiece is Jumbo, a 19th-century steam engine along with coal mining, carpentry, and stove-making exhibits.

CITY: Belleville

Kaskaskia Bell Shrine and the Liberty Bell of the West

Known as the Liberty Bell of the West, the Kaskaskia Bell was rung as the island was captured from the British during the Revolutionary War.

CITY: Ellis Grove

Civil War Fort

Visit an exact replica of a Civil War Fort complete with a jail, one-room home, livery, and log cabins.

CITY: Germantown

Mascoutah Heritage Museum

The museum focuses on the businesses that helped the city grow, particularly milling.

CITY: Mascoutah

The History Museum of Monroe County

Anchored by items gifted by Col. Edd & Violet Kueker, this collection represents the settlement of the West, numerous U.S. wars and early transportation. There is even a display of items from the Stone Age retrieved during a local archaeological dig. Changing displays and Special Exhibits from the Museum collection and "on loan" items provide awesome journeys through the pages of history.

CITY: Waterloo

Katherine Dunham Museum

Katherine Dunham is probably best known as a legendary dancer who propelled the awareness of the cultures of the African Diaspora via her choreography. Her famous dance technique reflects a fusion of many cultures. Miss Dunham was a true renaissance woman. She was an artist, anthropologist, author, activist, manager, movie star, producer, educator, wife, mother, and so much more. The world needs to know about her wonderful life story and there's no better learning environment than the Museum and Centers for Arts and Humanities she created. The museum houses Miss Dunham's outstanding collection of symbolic and functional art, including more than 250 African and Caribbean art objects from more than 50 countries.

CITY: East St. Louis

Rieso Farm Museum & Antiques

There is a large collection of machinery and primitives dating back to the 1800s.

CITY: New Athens

Greater Saint Louis Air and Space Museum

Learn about the history of aviation in the St. Louis area. The Museum is located at the St. Louis Downtown Parks Airport and has Gus Grissom's flight suit, a collection of TWA artifacts, and a 1941 Meyers O.T.W. Bi-plane on exhibit.

CITY: Cahokia

Peterstown House

Built in 1830, this is the only stagecoach stop still intact along the 60-mile Kaskaskia-Cahokia trail.

CITY: Waterloo

Martin/Boismenue House

Built in the 1790s, the house is designed in the French vertical-log style rather than the more familiar horizontal-log style. This is the oldest known residence in Illinois.

CITY: East Carondelet

Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site

(TEMPORARILY CLOSED beginning 10/08 except for special events.) This site preserves what is left of the old fort-one of the first built on the Mississipi River. A scenic overlook offers views of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers, and of Old Kaskaskia.

CITY: Ellis Grove

Garrison Hill Cemetery

The cemetery was created when graves were moved from Kaskaskia Island in the 1890s after a flood. According to one account, 3,000 boxes were moved, some containing entire families.

CITY: Ellis Grove

Maeystown

The entire 150-year-old German settlement is on the National Historic Register. Restoration includes a church from 1867, a one-lane stone arched bridge, Corner George Inn, general store, sweet shops, museum, and a visitor's center.

CITY: Maeystown

Pierre Menard Home

(TEMPORARILY CLOSED beginning 10/08 except for special events.) Pierre Menard, an important political figure in 1818, built this home. It is furnished with many of the Menard family's personal possessions and other period pieces. The surrounding grounds and outbuildings include an herb garden, smokehouse, springhouse, and adjoining kitchen.

CITY: Ellis Grove

Downtown Lebanon

Stroll brick-paved St. Louis Street in the Lebanon Antiques District, where you’ll find more than 20 antique and specialty shops in this historic town that was founded in 1804, during the time of the Lewis & Clark expedition.

CITY: Lebanon

St. Louis Air & Space Museum

Learn about the history of aviation in the St. Louis area.

CITY: Cahokia

Charter Oak "8-Sided" School

This building is a great study in physics as well as history. It was designed to withstand strong winds and capture light throughout the day.

CITY: Sparta

Martin-Boismenue House

This traditional one-story French Creole residence, built circa 1790, is considered to be one of the oldest surviving residences in Illinois.

CITY: East Carondelet