About Us :

LaSalle began as a canal town, drawing Irish immigrants with the promise of work along the Illinois-Michigan Canal. Today, LaSalle is home to people of many nationalities and cultures.

History :

Before settlers came to the area, the IllinoisValley was inhabited by a people known as the Mound Builders and the Native Americans. Because of the limited amount of written records concerning these people, very little is known about their lives and activities.

The first recorded journey through the area is that of Louis Joliet and Father Marquette in the late 1660’s. They passed through the area on their way west, and Father Marquette later returned to found a mission near what is now Starved Rock.

Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de LaSalle, for whom the city is named, began is exploration of the area in 1678. After traveling the Mississippi River, he and Henri di Tonty built FortSaint Louis at Starved Rock. He continued to travel, building forts, until his murder in January 1687.