Local Sports Calendar

After months spent in search of game, it’s time for longhunters to gather so they can sell their bounty, buy supplies and celebrate with friends – an event the Fort de Chartres State Historic Site will re-enact April 1-2.

 The Colonial Trade Faire and Musket & Rifle Frolic runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 2. Admission is free.

 The Trade Faire features costumed historic interpreters, shooting matches and period games and music. Craftspeople and merchants will sell reproductions of period goods, and local Boy Scouts will sell food.

 The Colonial Trade Faire is sponsored by Les Amis du Fort de Chartres and the Chasseurs du Datchurat, a group that re-enacts the lives and skills of longhunters. “Chasseurs” is French for “hunter,” and Datchurat was the name of an area merchant who employed hunters during the 1760s and ‘70s.

 Longhunters were professional hide hunters who would routinely embark on grand hunts lasting months and sometimes more than a year. They are most identified with Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, but some operated in the Illinois country.

 For more details, visit http://longhunter.com or www.fortdechartres.us

 Fort de Chartres was built by the French military in the 1750s. It served as the seat of government and chief military installation in Illinois when France controlled the territory. The British then took it over and used it until 1772.

 The site was declared a national historic landmark in 1960. The fort’s powder magazine is the oldest building in Illinois.

 Fort de Chartres is located at 1350 IL Route 155, 4 miles west of Prairie du Rocher. It is open Thursday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A donation of $4 for adults, $2 for children, or $10 per family is suggested.

 The site is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. IHPA protects the state’s historic resources, which contribute to education, culture and the economy. IHPA sites include ancient burial mounds, forts and buildings erected by settlers, and homes connected to famous Illinoisans