- St. Clair County is organized (named
by Arthur St. Clair, first territorial governor, after himself). St. Clair was a member of
the Continental Congress, an associate of George Washington, fought in the Revolution and
is remembered for giving up Fort Ticonderoga to the British without firing a shot. At the
time, it was the largest county in the world (its boundaries once stretched to the
Canadian border) before it was later reduced in size.
William Biggs, a Dutchman who once was a member of George Rogers
Clark's troops, becomes the first sheriff of the county. He earlier had been taken
prisoner by an Indian war party. They forced him to live with them on the Wabash River for
many months before he was ransomed.
Click here for more on the History of St. Clair County
An African Negro named Moreau is duly hanged at Cahokia for practicing
witchcraft. Another (named Emmanuel) is shot for the same offense.
