Renault (pronounced ''REE-nalt'' or ''re-NALT'') is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the historic Renault Precinct of

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

History

Philip Francois Renault

Renault and its surrounding precinct within Monroe County, bear the name of one of the most conspicuous men connected with the early French settlements of

Philip Francois Renault Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, left his native Picardy,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1719 for the New World. Along the way, he picked up 500 African slaves in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, for use in the mines he expected to develop; these were the first slaves of their kind brought to Illinois. In 1723 Renault was granted “in freehold, in order to make his establishment upon the mines” of a tract of land a league and a half in a width by six in depth on the “Little Marameig” in Upper Louisiana (

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

); another tract of two leagues “at the mine called the mine of Lamothe;” another of one league in front of Pimeteau on the river Illinois; and “one league fronting on the Mississippi, at the place called the Great Marsh, adjoining on one side to the

Illinois Indians The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley. Eventually member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Michicigao (Michigan) to Iowa, Illi ...

, settled near

Fort de Chartres Fort de Chartres was a French fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. It was used as the administrative center for the province, which was part of New France. Due generally to river floo ...

, with a depth of two leagues, this place being the situation which has been granted to him for the raising of provisions, and to enable him to furnish then to all the settlements he shall make upon the mines.” The latter grant being within the current precinct, and intended as the "breadbasket" of Renault's operations. He founded a small community, St. Phillipe, to facilitate his agricultural enterprises, however his community was largely abandoned in 1765, most of its citizens removing across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

to what was still French-controlled territory at the time. The captain of the local militia remained as the sole French household, by 1700, there were no French left there, and the site had a single inhabitant in 1801. Very few traces of the site remain.

Glasgow City

What is now called Renault was originally called Glasgow City and was laid out by Jame Glasgow in the year 1860, along the old St. Louis and Kaskaskia Road, which passed through Burksville and Waterloo on its way to St. Louis. In 1883, it contained 28 homes and a population of about 150. Sometime later, the settlement formally adopted the name which the local Post Office used. In the late 19th century, persons claiming to represent the estate of Renault reportedly attempted to recover these lands from later inhabitants.Combined History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois, J. L. McDonough & Co., Philadelphia, 1883

Notable person

* Lee Dashner, MLB pitcher for the

Cleveland Naps The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Monroe County, Illinois Metro East Populated places established in 1860 French colonial settlements of Upper Louisiana Unincorporated communities in Illinois