For General Information
about FHC
Lisa Kahn, Director
French Heritage Corridor Initiative
[email protected]
The 7 FHC Ambassadors
(IA) Ceil Miller-Bouchet
[email protected]
(IL) James Paul
[email protected]
(IN) J.Colby Bartlett
[email protected]
(MI) Michael Nassaney
[email protected]
(MN) Rob Mann
[email protected]
(MO) Tandy Thompson
[email protected]
(WI) Mary Elise Antoine
[email protected]
Leadership Team
Dr. Charles Balesi
Author and Historian
Amy Fienga
FHS Paris affiliate and Co-Chair of the Student Exchange Program
Diane Hunter
Myaamia Heritage Preservation Specialist
Sylvette Niccolini
Chairman FHC and FHS Chicago Advisory Panel
Marc Rosier
Author and Historian
Honorary Committee
The Honorable Yannick Tagand
Consul Général de France in the Midwest
Princesse Marie Sol de La Tour d’Auvergne
Baronesse Isabelle de Laroullière
Madame Jeanne Lamy-Belzil
Public & Governmental Affairs Officer, Délégation du Québec à Chicago
Julie Kemper Foyer
William T. Kemper Foundation
Perri Irmer
President & CEO, DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center: A Smithsonian Affiliate
Jeanne Gang
Architect and Founding Principal and Partner of Studio Gang
Andrew Nussbaum
Wisconsin Department of Tourism
Our Mission
The French Heritage Corridor initiative comprises seven states in the Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin). This network, joined by waterways connecting with the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes, transcends borders to recreate in the Midwest what was once la Nouvelle France.
While French history and heritage of eastern Canada and of Louisiana is typically well known and understood by the general public, the region comprising the French Heritage Corridor which lies between them is not as universally appreciated.
The French Heritage Corridor (FHC) is an initiative of FHS Chicago-Midwest chapter dedicated to developing synergy and raising the collective awareness about the rich French history and heritage that has, since the 17th century, melded with the vibrant multicultural landscape in what is today the Midwestern United States.
French Heritage Society is an American non-profit organization created in 1982 that includes 10 chapters in the US and one in France.
Through various activities and our educational program, we are dedicated to preservation, restoration and promotion of the beautiful French heritage throughout the United States and France.
The central mission of French Heritage Society is to ensure that the treasures of our shared French architectural and cultural heritage survive to inspire future generations to build, dream, and create by:
- Preserving the rich French architectural and cultural heritage throughout France and in the US by raising funds for restoration, preservation and cultural grants.
- Transmitting and safeguarding the skills, knowledge and love of the heritage through transatlantic educational programs for students, architects, artisans, art connoisseurs and collectors.
- Fostering Franco-American friendship and cross-cultural exchange through select tours in France and the U.S., lectures, conferences, galas and other events on both sides of the Atlantic.
Discover French Heritage Sites in the Midwest
- All Locations
- Overview (8)
- Historic Sites (46)
- Museums (18)
- Parks / Preserves (28)
- Corridor / Trail (2)
- Historical Societies (22)
- Native American / French (11)
- Cultural Immersion (6)
- Historic Markers (7)
French Heritage Corridor Events
- September 16: “Everyday Elegance in 1832: Living History”, Indian Agency House, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WI Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- September 22: “Dugout Canoe Workshop #3”, Indian Agency House, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WI Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- September 23: “This Mysterious Old House (live tour)”, Indian Agency House, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WI Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- September 27 at 3 pm: Indigenous Cultural Trail Dedication, Indiana Dunes Visitor Center at 1215 N. State Rd. 49, Porter, IN ICT_Invitations_Dedication_General__72b07bf0-2a06-4d58-ad73-e06bc8fc92d2.pdf (simpleviewinc.com)
- September 30 at 10 am: “The Discovery of Chicago Bus Tour”, at the monumental statue of Joliet and Marquette in Portage Woods Forest Preserve (4800 S. Harlem Ave.) in Lyons, IL Discovery of Chicago Bus Tour | Chicago Portage (cmu.edu)
- September 30: “Mysterious Old House (virtual tour)”, Indian Agency House, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WI Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- October 1: Annual Fete d’Automne, Old Mines, MO
- October 5 at 6:30 pm: “Louis Jolliet: Solid Path Through Water”, a performance by Jim Healy, Central Library-Downtown Green Bay, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WS 35th Annual Local History Series — Louis Jolliet: a Solid Path Through Water | Brown County Library (librarycalendar.com)
- October 6 & 8 : Annual Conference, Center for French Colonial Studies, River Raisin National Battlefield Park, Monroe, MI | www.frenchcolonialstudies.org
- October 7 at 4 pm: The French-American Heritage Foundation will be celebrating its ten-year anniversary in the Grande Salle room, at the Alliance Française, Joly Family Center for International Understanding, 227 Colfax Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 10-Year Anniversary Celebration – French-American Heritage Foundation of Minnesota (fahfminn.org)
- October 7 & 8: 6th Annual Fall Militia Encampment at Ste. Genevieve, MO
- October 7 & 8: Feast of the Hunters’ Moon, 3129 S. River Road, West Lafayette, IN
- October 17: Bourbonnais Grove Historical Society’s Fleur-de-Lis Celebration Dinner (fundraiser for preservation of FHC site Bourbonnais Grove’s 1837 log schoolhouse)
- October 19 from 4-5:30 pm and Friday October 20 from 4-5 pm (both days online via zoom): Revisiting the History of Little Canadas in the US: Identity and Spatial Organization in the 19th and 20th Centuries; “The French-Canadian Heritage Corridor in Northeastern Illinois” by James Paul—Thursday from 5-5:30 pm, and “Cultural Fusion in Frontier Petit Canada; the Rise and Fall of Potawatomi and French-Canadian Relations in Bourbonnais, Illinois” by Mack Brza—Friday from 4-5 pm; register using this link Meeting Registration – Zoom
- October 21: Night of the Werewolf at Ste. Genevieve, MO
- October 28: Rural Heritage Days at Ste. Genevieve, MO
- November 4: Pecanapalooza Street Festival at Ste. Genevieve, MO
- November 4 & 5: Fort de Chartres Winter Rendezvous, Prairie du Rocher, IL
- December 9: “17th annual Kiddie Christmas” and “Holiday Shopping in Gift Shop”, Indian Agency House, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WI Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- December 29: Old Mines Area Historical Society Village Christmas, Potosi, MO
- December 31: Prairie du Rocher La Guiannee at Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher, IL
French Heritage Corridor Initiatives
Conferences
Click here to discover our First Annual Conference, “A Midwest Renaissance”, held in May 2021 in Prairie du Rocher, IL.
Click here to discover our Second Annual Conference, “Making our Dream a Reality”, held in May 2022 in Lafayette and West Lafayette, IN.
Click here to discover our Third Annual Conference, “We’re All In This Together!”, held in June 2023 in Prairie du Chien, WI.
History Module
Click on the links below to see our module presenting a suite of information on the history of the French Heritage Corridor, including the arrival of the French, introductions to state-by-state French heritage, teaching materials, and more.
Module d’histoire en français
Pour voir la suite de pages qui présentent l’histoire du Corridor en français, cliquez ici.
Bienvenue!
The French Heritage Corridor invites you to discover this region’s rich history and culture. The resources presented here–written materials, maps, images, and more–will help you get to know this distinct heritage.
Whether we’re residents or visitors, our first hint that this region has a French past often comes through an encounter with its many place names of French origin: Prairie du Chien, Detroit, Joliet, Vincennes, Des Moines, Dubuque, Mille Lacs, Portage, La Crosse, Bourbonnais, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette—the list goes on and on!
How did there come to be so many places reflecting a past with French connections? The materials here help to answer that question, and many more.
A section introducing the French colonial presence in the French Heritage Corridor.
A section that highlights the stories of other French speakers who came to the states of the French Heritage Corridor during and after the French colonial period, enriching the region through their varied cultural contributions.
A section that describes the workings of the fur trade. It underlines theimportant relationship between the French and their Native trading partners.
A section that introduces seventeenth-and eighteenth-century French maps and invites you to think about what and who the French explorers encountered as they moved westward and southward in this region.
A section presenting the account books of one French-speaking fur trader who worked in this region.
A section for learners or speakers of French that offers French-language information about the region’s French heritage. The texts are appropriate for high school or college language learners, and are accompanied by pedagogical activities that can be adapted by teachers.