Iliniwek Village State Historic Site preserves the only known Illinois Indian village discovered in Missouri, on a high terrace above the Des Moines River floodplain near St. Francisville. Occupied from about 1640 to 1683, it was the largest and best preserved known village of the Illinois Indians, with at least 300 lodges and more than 8,000 people. Archaeological work revealed house foundations, storage pits, and traces of a palisade, showing both daily life and defense. Artifacts including glass beads, metal objects, and Jesuit trade rings indicate early European contact, and this was the first Native American community encountered in present-day Missouri by Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette in 1673.