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Most probably the first person to explore Illinois was a Native American descended from the people who came to North America from Asia. As we have no record of exactly when the first person visited Illinois, we can't know his/her name.

The first Europeans to come to Illinois were fur trappers in the Ohio Valley. In 1673, Father Pierre Marquette and Louis Joliet (Jolliet) traveled down the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes, and traveled along what is now the Illinois River.

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8y ago

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