To fully understand the history of McConnell, one must examine the era prior to its
existence. Long before white men came to the area it was known as "Winnebago
Land" from the Rock River to the Mississippi River. The Indians were primarily a
farming people who welcomed the white men.
The French were the first white men to explore the area mainly because of the
abundance of fur for trapping. The French befriended the Indians and traded goods and
ideas with them. During this time the French became aware of the large deposits of lead in
the area. In 1699 the French sent a mining expedition to find lead to the area known as
Galena. The French and Indians got along well together, even though the French looked upon
the land as their own. This was proved in the treaty of 1762 between the French and the
English in which the French ceded the territory to Britain.
There were two main land trails that the newcomers used to reach the area. The first
was the Kellogg Trail which from Fort Clark, later named Peoria, to Prairie Du Chien, in
the Wisconsin Territory. The second trail was from Fort Dearborn, later named Chicago, to
Galena. Travelers also used the waterways. They took the Mississippi River to the Galena
River, then up to the fur rich territory of Minnesota.
As the number of white men in the area increased, mainly trappers, miners and
squatters (farmers), so did the number of conflicts with the Indians. Although Illinois
became a state in 1818, the land north of Peoria was still Indian land. The white men
wanted them removed either by treaty or by war. Thus culminated the Blackhawk War of 1831
- 1832. This was not a full scale war as we know today, but a series of conflicts and
guerilla tactics used by the Indians. These ended with the massacre of Blackhawk's people
at the Mississippi River. Following the war, the influx of white settlements increased.
(Excerpt from the McConnell Sesquicentennial History Album. Written by Steven W. Kohn . 1988)