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) Rob Mann
[email protected]
(MI) Michael Nassaney
[email protected]
(MN) Gregory Cash
[email protected]
(MO) Tandy Thompson
[email protected]
(WI) Michael Poma
[email protected]
Leadership Team
Dr. Charles Balesi
Author and Historian
Amy Fienga
FHS Paris affiliate and Co-Chair of the Student Exchange Program
Sylvette Niccolini
Chairman FHC and FHS Chicago Advisory Panel
Marc Rosier
Author and Historian
Logan York
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
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
Randa Duvick
FHC Module Developer
Diane Hunter
Myaamia Heritage Preservation Specialist
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.
Click here to make a fully tax-deductible donation to the French Heritage Corridor Initiative.
Discover French Heritage Sites in the Midwest
- All Locations
- Overview (8)
- Historic Sites (59)
- Museums (24)
- Parks / Preserves (30)
- Corridor / Trail (2)
- Historical Societies (25)
- Native American / French (13)
- Cultural Immersion (6)
- Historic Markers (9)
French Heritage Corridor Events
- On display now: King Louis XV Sèvres Porcelain Plate,Peoria Riverfront Museum, 222 SW Washington St., Peoria, IL Exhibits | Collections – EXHIBITS – Louis XV Plate – Peoria Riverfront Museum
- August 24 at 11 am: Annual DuSable Day Memorial Commemoration, at the Bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable (Pioneer Court), Chicago ANNUAL DuSable COMMERATION Aug, 24 2024 | Dusableheritage
- August 24 from 4-8 pm—Soirée en Blanc, Pottawatomie Park, St. Charles, IL, Soirée en Blanc, Saturday, August 24, 4:00-8:00 p.m. (google.com)
- August 24-25—Post Miami, Fort Wayne, IN, https://oldfortwayne.org/event/post-miami-1754-1763-2/
- August 24 at 10:30 am- 9:30 pm and August 25 from 12:30-4 pm–Chautauqua & Arts Festival at Old Crossing Treaty Park, Red Lake Falls at Old Crossing Treaty Park, MN 2024 Schedule (oldcrossing.org)
- September 7, 2024:Artillery Safety School at Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher, IL Events – Fort de Chartres .
- September 7 (12:00-10:00 pm)— Joan of Arc FRENCH MARKET, Indianapolis, IN, https://sjoa.org/about-french-market
- September 10, 2024 (6:30pm): “Citizens of a Stolen Land: A Ho-Chunk History of the 19th Century United States” by Dr. Stephen Kantrowitz, Historic Indiana Agency House at Fort Winebego, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WS Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- September 14 from 10 am-5pm and September 15 from 10 am-4 pm—“A River Thru History Rendezvous, Columbia Woods Forest Preserve, Willow Springs, IL (20+) Calling all history buffs and adventure… – A River Thru History | Facebook
- September 21, 2024 (10:00am-4:00pm):“Follow the Trail of History”, Historic Indiana Agency House at Fort Winebego, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WS Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- September 21 at 11 am—Mark Labine’s presentation on the Acadian Diaspora, Saint Anne Church, Somerset, WI Events – French-American Heritage Foundation of Minnesota (fahfminn.org)
- September 24, 2024 (5:30-9:00pm):Bourbonnais Grove Historical Society’s Seventh Annual Fleur-de-Lis Celebration Dinner, Kankakee Country Club Fleur-de-Lis Celebration (bourbonnaishistory.org) .
- October 5-6—Feast of the Hunters’ Moon, West Lafayette, IN, http://feastofthehuntersmoon.org
- October 6, 2024: La Fête de l’Automne, Old Mines Area Historical Society, Fertile MO https://omahs.weebly.com/area-events.html
- October 8, 2024 (6:30pm):“The Old Military Road: An Historic Highway Winding Through a Bigger Story” by Dr. Patrick Jung, Historic Indiana Agency House at Fort Winebego, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WS Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- October 11-13–2024 Center for French Colonial Studies conference, Natchitoches Event Center, Louisiana. www.frenchcolonialstudies.org.
- October 12 from 10 am to 4 pm—Fort de Chartres Bake Oven Class, (20+) Fort de Chartres Bake oven Class | Facebook
- October 12. 2024: Fall Militia Encampment, Ste. Genevieve, MO https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064413890791
- October 13, 2024 (12:00-5:00pm): Closing Day-2024 Season, Historic Indiana Agency House at Fort Winebego, 1490 Agency House Road, Portage, WS Events | Historic Indian Agency House | Portage
- October 18 (6:00pm – 7:00pm):Mendota After Hours: The Montreal Fur Trade and George Bonga of 1837. Sibley Historic Site, Mendota, MN https://dakotahistory.org/events/1003-october-18-mendota-after-hours-the-montreal-fur-trade-and-george-bonga-of-1837
- November 2-3, 2024:Fort de Chartres Winter Rendezvous, Prairie du Rocher, IL Events – Fort de Chartres
- December 31, 2024: Prairie du Rocher La Guiannée at Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher, IL Events – Fort de Chartres
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.
Here, you can explore history more in depth about IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO and WI and access additional resources such as teaching tools, suggested tours and connect to active groups.
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.