Activities

  • Historic Site Tours

    Groups of five or more people may arrange for a tour by contacting Battle of Athens State Historic Site at 660-877-3871 in advance.

  • picnicking

    A small picnic area is available. Click here for more information.

  • hiking

    Follow Oxbow Trail to explore the historic site. Click here for more information.

Park information

High above the Des Moines River’s floodplain, the grasses that sway back and forth in the wind beckon visitors to Iliniwek Village State Historic Site. The site is the only Illinois Indian village site found in Missouri,  and thought to be occupied from about 1640 through the late 1670s. Excavations at the site lead archaeologists to believe that perhaps 8,000 people lived in the village at the site when Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette came through the area in 1673. Visitors to the site can walk a short trail to learn more about the village’s inhabitants and the effect settlement had on them.

See video

Park Hours

Historic Site Grounds:

  • Sunrise to sunset, year-round 
  • November through March
    The entrance gate remains closed; however, limited parking is available outside the gate for walk-in visitation.