Pierre Menard Home State Historic Site 4230 Kaskaskia Street, Ellis Grove, IL 62241

"Fantastic guy, unbelievable stories, just a very fun time. He spoke like 20 languages including many native American. The guide lady had to call her male friend because I was too scary and that was awkward. That was 5 years ago so I hope they have a new guide, but everything was amazing! 100 people a night sleeping in the entry room, times were tough. Very out of the ordinary place to visit."

"Sweet Michelle gave me an expedited, abbreviated personal tour just before closing on a Friday. It was amazing. I’ll be back for the full tour."

"Went here today (13 Jun 2024), and it was open and the guide took us all around the property. We didnt think it was open as the "office" is under the front porch in a small door, easy to miss! Absolutely delightful tour and history lesson of the local area. The main floor of the house where all the old furniture/artifacts are located has a/c, a welcome relief today.... Donations accepted. Will absolutely repeat."

"We wanted to see this house and grounds because it was a highlighted home to see in the DAR National magazine. It seems the home has been closed for sometime and needs repairs. It needs to be shared with people that love history & stories. S & B Titus"

"I would love to have toured this home. It's a shame that it's closed and showing the effects of weather and time on this historic structure. Besides being the first Leut. Governor of Illinois, he was the grandfather to Lucien Maxwell. Maxwell was the trapper on the John C. Fremont expeditions of the west. He was a close friend of Kit Carson. The two of them helped establish Rayado, a community on the Santa Fe Trail just south of Cimarron, NM and the Philmont Scout Ranch. In fact, Philmont manages and gives tours of Rayado. Maxwell's house is still standing. Many of the historic structures in Cimarron such as the grist mill were built by Maxwell who moved to Cimarron. He held the greatest contiguous amount of land. Once he sold that, he bought Fort Sumner (NM) from the federal government. This is where Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid. It's also where Oliver Loving, the real-life inspiration for Robert Duvall's character Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove died of gangrene after an ambush by Commanches near Carlsbad, NM. Lucien Maxwell was born in Kaskaskia and was very likely to have been influenced by his grandfather who was a fur trader from Quebec. Lucien's parents and grandfather are buried in the nearby Menard Cemetery en route to the historic Fort Kaskaskia. You can walk around this home site. It's easy to access."