The village of Prairie du Rocher sits at the foot of the limestone bluffs that give it its name — 'Prairie of the Rock.' It was established by French settlers in the 1720s as a farming community to supply Fort de Chartres, and it has maintained a small but continuous presence ever since. The population today is around 600.
A slow drive or walk through the older streets reveals vernacular buildings that reflect the French colonial heritage of the region, including some of the oldest farmhouses in Illinois. The village is not a tourist destination in the conventional sense — there are no restaurants or shops to speak of — but as a living remnant of French colonial Illinois, it has a quiet authenticity that the polished historic sites nearby cannot match.