La Belle Fontaine

Presented by Bill Wilson/Dennis Patton. This is the story of a beautiful flowing spring in Waterloo and the people and events surrounding this early Illinois pioneer site. Highlights of the program include the French settler who claimed the area, the importance of the area to the natives living there, the first white settlers and their homesteads, structures currently on the site and the old cemetery atop a nearby hill. Mr. Wilson has since his retirement from Belleville Area College, pursued his interest in early Illinois history. He is President of the Hill’s Fort Society, Events Chairman of the Illinois Society of the War of 1812 and has co-authored five books on IL history. Mr. Patton is a retired high school principal and author of his first book, School Days, Columbia, Illinois First Schools.