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		Struggle For Empire: Early Origins to 1815

		1792 A.D.

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BC 23000 AD 1100 1300 1500 1539 1656 1673 1675 1699 1720 1724 1756 1763 1764 1765 1769 1770 1771 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1787 1789 1790 1791 1792 1794 1797 1799 1800 1803 1804 1805 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1814 1815 1816 1817		Arthur St. Clair suggests that a ferry be built directly across from St. Louis. At the time, the only ferry in existence ran from a point on the river near Cahokia and Carondelet, Ill. Captain James Piggott and his sons explore an area just north of where Cahokia Creek empties into the Mighty Mississippi. Huge sycamores and cottonwoods dominated the area. Lush winter grass covered the ground. The Indians had used this spot for years as a gathering place to trade with the French in St. Louis. This was where Piggott decided to build his mill. Historian Carl Baldwin says that the vision of East St. Louis was born that blustery fall day. Piggott begins construction of a settlement and connects it to his ferryboat operation on the river with a new road. His thriving business would rival the one located farther south at Cahokia. This new all-weather road ran along the east bank of Cahokia Creek and later became the basis for present-day Piggott Avenue. He also improves a five mile long road from Cahokia (over a trail known as Commonfields Road) to the banks of the Mississippi. The road project will last from 1792-97. Two cabins are built to house workers who do not wish to make the long trip back to Cahokia or Grand Ruisseau at the end of the day. Piggott calls this settlement Washington.