By the late 1700’s, the Kickapoo people had established a major settlement here near fertile fields, abundant game and timber, and important trade routes. Opposed to American expansion, they allied with the British during the War of 1812. The village burning and crop destroying strategies of the American frontier militia forced the Kickapoo from their homes, and this village and a nearby stockade were destroyed during that war. Many Kickapoo remained in Central Illinois until 1832, when they were forcibly removed by federal legislation. Today the Kickapoo live in Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.