Le jardin du Héron. Alain Thomas. Sur les bords de la Moine à Clisson - Loire Atlantique. 13 septembre 2022 Dominique Dubois #alainthomas #alainthomaspeintre #clisson #lamoine #heron #art#loireatlantique #urbanart #artiste#vertou#igersloireatlantique https://www.instagram.com/p/Cie-dVIqAAC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
For my second Better Know a River interview, I chatted with a river located in west-central Illinois: La Moine River. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s jump straight into the interview.
Where in western Illinois are you located?
I am a tributary of the Illinois River, flowing 124 miles south through seven counties until I meet the Illinois at the junction of Cass, Schuyler, and Brown County. My rugged, irregular course earned me my one of my previous names: Crooked Creek.
What other names have you had?
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with my region, but it’s rich in natural resources. Argyle Lake State Park, Weinberg-King State Park, and Anderson Lake are all near me. The area is so beautiful that for a time I was referred to as Eden.
The name that stuck, obviously, was La Moine. It’s of French origin and translates to River of the Monk. The history behind this name is debated to this day. One possibility is that La Moine is an abbreviation of Moingonas, a Native American tribe who inhabited the area. The second possibility, is that after a man was found living alone on the banks of my river when the Sacs and Fox tribes settled in the area, I was referred to as as Ke-ish-shaw-qua’s sepp, the river of the man who lives alone. That translates to La Riviere des Moines in French, which was later shortened to La Moine. Whether my name is connected to the Des Moines River in Iowa also remains a mystery.
Sounds like you have been home to many societies.
Yes. In fact, people have lived in my basin for more than 10,000 years, and more than 3,000 archaeological sites were found leading up to the new century.
Was it the natural resources that drove them to you?
Well, it’s at least why they stayed.
During the mid-1800s, many natural resource industries were booming in the La Moine basin. Settlers used the timber from my forests for barrels. At one point, Schuyler County had around 1,500 men employed just for barrel construction. After the mussel beds of the Mississippi were depleted, “clamming” moved towards the Illinois River. Made from the shell of mussels, buttons were in high demand before World War I until Japan started selling them for much cheaper than the US. And coal was so rich in my area that it could easily be dug up with a shovel, which sparked the local mining industry. From the start of the coal mining boom through 1996, almost 255 million tons of coal were produced from mines in McDonough, Schuyler, and Brown counties alone.
One unusual resource mined from my basin was clay. Clay deposits were mined for around fifty years to make jugs, field tiles, bricks, and other pottery products. The industry thrived for half a century, and “Jug Towns” such as Ripley became well known. Eighteen potteries once existed, and a particularly large one in Colchester—Moses King’s Brick and Tile Works—produced 140,000 bricks a week. Unfortunately, products could only be shipped along me in the spring, when the water level was high enough. Overtime, pottery factories near railroads or more navigable bodies of water took over the industry.
As exciting as that time was, I’m sad to say it took a toll. Today, only 85 of the nearly 1.2 million acres within my basin still have habitats considered undegraded. No original forests remain except for about 39 acres.
But despite those ecosystem changes, lots of plants and animals are still found in your waters and banks.
Yes! Over 446 mammals, amphibians, reptiles, snakes, and other aquatic species live in habitats around me. Eighty-six percent of Illinois bird species are found in my basin. Less common birds, such as Cooper’s hawk, broad-winged hawk, and Acadian flycatcher, can even be spotted in my woods. Rare species of mammals can also be found in small quantities including the federally endangered Indiana bat, bobcats, and the once-threatened river otter.
But the fragmented nature of my forest, wetland, prairie, and bluff habitats causes problems for some, especially birds that have to hunt in areas far away from their nests. There are high rates of nest predation, and even brood parasitism.
How does your overall future look?
I am very optimistic about my future. Animals, such as the river otter, were reintroduced in 1997 and have established themselves again. Native shortgrass will be planted on thirteen acres to expand bird breeding habitats. Fifty acres of bottomland forest and uplands have been placed in permanent easement, while erosion weakened streambanks are beginning to be stabilized. Argyle Hollow Barrens Nature Preserve within Argyle Lake State Park contains a unique plant community including prairie plants, stunted open-growth trees, and scattered shrubs growing on thin soil over bedrock. While the land will never be quite as it was before settlement, the steps people are taking to improve my basin drastically improve my long-term sustainability.
For more information on the La Moine river basin visit www.dnr.illinois.gov/publications/Documents/00000531.pdf
