State parks.—The state parks are administered by the Department of Public Works and Buildings through the Division of Parks. The movement to establish a compre hensive system of state parks has taken place since 1900, and a progressive program of action has followed the appointment of a superintendent of parks under the Administrative Code of 1917. The present plan looks forward to the improvement or reclamation of every spot in the state which is of lasting historic importance. The following parks and historic spots are now the property of the state and under the care of the Division of Parks: 1. Starved Rock Park, a tract of about 1,000 acres, is located along the south bank of the Illinois River in La Salle County, near Utica, midway between Ottawa and La Salle. It includes the historic Starved Rock on which La Salle and Tonti erected Fort St. Louis in 1682. The park extends along the river bluff for 5 miles and includes more than a score of picturesque canyons. French Canyon, Fox Canyon, and Aurora Canyon are among those easily visited and widely known. Starved Rock Park was purchased by the state in 1911. Visitors now number more than 100,000 annually. A modern hotel, owned by the state, with rooms for 200 guests, offers comfort able accommodations to visitors. Guard rails have been placed in hazardous places, paths have been laid out, and markers put up showing routes to the differ ent canyons. A spacious auditorium is provided for conventions and social gatherings. A garage is also maintained. Admission to the park and its scenery is free to all. The historic associations of the region, the natural beauty of the scenery, the good automobile roads leading to the park, the excellent electric-railway service, the river ferryboats, and the provision made by the state for the comfort of visitors are making of Starved Rock Park one of the most attractive places to be found between the Appalachian and Rocky mountains.
2. Fort Massac Park is located on the Ohio River at Metropolis in Massac County. George Rogers Clark entered Illinois in 1778 in the immediate vicinity of Fort Massac Park under the first American flag unfurled in Illinois. A monument to George Rogers Clark has been erected in the park. The site of the park, consisting of 25 acres, was purchased by the state in 1903. Visitors will find here relics of early Illinois history and a magnificent view of the Ohio River and Valley.
3. Fort Chartres Park, 10 acres in area, is located in the northwest corner of Randolph County four miles west of the village of Prairie du Rocher, the nearest railroad station.
Recent plans provide for the restoration of the old fortress from the native rock which is abundant in the immediate vicinity.
A visit to this early center of the white man's activity in Illinois is well worth the effort of anyone who wishes to recon struct in imagination the conditions under which early exploration and settlement were made.
4. Shabbona Park, a small plot, 3z acres,14 miles north of Ottawa, was secured by the state in 1902. This park and the monument erected in the park commemorate the memory of 15 men, women, and children who were massacred by the Indians in 1832. The park is named for Shabbona, an Indian chief, who rode all night to warn the settlers of their danger. Those who fled at his request saved their lives.
5. Douglas Monument Park, a small plot of ground in Chicago at Thirty-fifth Street and Lake Michigan, is the property of the state and contains a monument to Stephen A. Douglas.
6. The Lincoln Monument in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Spring field, is now state property and under the care of the Division of Parks. The French and British Commissions which visited
the United States shortly after America entered the world-war made pilgrimages to the tomb of Lincoln.
7. The Lincoln Homestead, Eighth and Jackson streets, Springfield, has been donated to the state. Its convenient location makes it possible for people to visit it even if their stay in the capital city is very brief.
S. In 1919 the system of state parks was enlarged by the addition of New Salem Park on the banks of the Sangamon River near Petersburg in Menard County. Abraham Lincoln arrived at the village of New Salem in 1831, at the age of twenty two. New Salem was Lincoln's home for seven years. Here he kept store, practiced surveying, was chosen captain in the Black Hawk War, studied law, and was elected to the State Legislature. In later years, the village was abandoned, the buildings were removed or decayed, and the exact site of the village and its streets lost to the casual observer. A tract of GO acres has been donated to the state. Historic buildings of Lincoln's day are to be restored. New Salem Park is one of the most interesting memorials of Abraham Lincoln. President Woodrow Wilson and David Lloyd George, premier of England, were charter members of the Old Salem Lincoln League which created an interest in making New Salem a state park.
9. The General Assembly of 1919 appropriated $1,500 to provide a marker for the site of Fort Creve Coeur near Peoria. The State Historical Society is engaged in making a thorough investigation concerning the exact site of Creve Coeur. The state marker will not be placed until the committee of the Historical Society reports. Seven sites have been presented for consideration.
Proposed state parks.—Other spots within the state having historic value and scenic beauty are under consideration as desirable additions to the state parks. Among these are the following: 1. The White Pine Forest, a tract of 500 acres in Ogle County, is the only natural white-pine woods in Illinois. As a state park this forest would become a center of attraction to visitors, and its care would furnish an opportunity for practical lessons in scientific forestry.
2. Cahokia Mound or Monk's Mound is in Madison County about 6 miles from East St. Louis. It is a truncated pyramid of earth, 1,080 by 710 feet, and 100 feet above the flood plain of the Mississippi. Sixty smaller mounds are found within a radius of 2 miles. Authorities differ as to whether these mounds are natural or artificial. Regardless of the method of formation, they furnished the native inhabitants of the region good building-sites above flood damage, and the relics of these former inhabitants are numerous in and near the mounds.
3. Campbell's Island, east of Moline, is a tract of 250 acres now used as an amusement park. Historical interest, however, attaches to the spot from the fact that 16 Americans were killed and 21 wounded here by Indians of Black Hawk's band on July 19, 1814, while an expedition under Major John Campbell was going to the relief of Fort Shelby in Wisconsin.
Internal improvements.—The voters of the state have approved the expenditure of $20,000,000 for the development of the Illinois Waterway and $60,000,000 for the building of good roads. As population has increased and as important needs of value to the state as a whole have appeared, the state government has become increasingly important in its ordinary functions and in the extensive enterprises committed to the state government by special vote of the people.