My Corner Online

 

Jerry F Costello Lock and Dam and Confluence Trail

We followed random signs and ended up at the Jerry F Costello Lock and Dam and Confluence Trail on June 26, 2022, and we were glad we did! There is a nice camping area here too.

We really enjoyed the tour of the lock and dam and our guide took his time to explain everything.

 

This shows the flooding watermarks.

This is a shot down river that shows where the Kaskaskia and the Mississippi Rivers meet (the confluence). A barge is passing by on the Mississippi River.

This map shows why I was excited for genealogical purposes to randomly have found this location. Beaver Island is where my ancestors live in Old Kaskaskia that was lost due to the changing courses of the river. It is often mostly under water. From the Missouri side, you can almost get to it from Kaskaskia Illinois, which is the a bit if the State of Illinois on the Missouri side of the river. You see on the map the Pierre Menard Home State Historic Site which is where a ferry existed to take folks back and forth across the river to Old Kaskaskia before the water moved. You see Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site and overlook which is where you can see Beaver Island from above. Also between the Fort and the overlook is a cemetery where many of the dead from Kaskaskia were moved to due to the flooding and the moving rivers. So I was excited to be able to see the same location from a different angle and from ground level. You can sort of see Old Kaskaskia from many places, but not really quite!

This is down the trail to the confluence.

This shows me on the dot as I walked to the end of the trail.

This is the end of the trail, but you can continue and walk all the way down to the water.

This shows the way the trail goes and how short of a walk it is.

I did a map driving by car from this place to the Pierre Menard Home and you can see it is not too far away, although it is much closer as the crow flies. You can see the Pierre Menard Home from the confluence.