History
The Cache River area was used as a trading crossroads by Native Americans, and has several sites of archeological interest within its boundaries, including the Cypress Citadel site just south of Cypress, Illinois.
French Voyageurs gave the river its modern name, calling it Cache, which means secret or hidden place. European settlers arrived in the region in 1803. They found the soil too wet for farming, and the swamps full of mosquitoes and venomous snakes; many early settlers died of malaria. However, the Cache provided excellent hunting and fishing, and abundant timber. One settler wrote home that the Cache River Basin was “good country for men and dogs, but hard on women and oxen.” Between 1810 and 1890 timber harvesting became a major industry in the Cache basin, cypress wood being sought for its light, water-resistant properties. The small towns on the edge of the swamp experienced a small boom during this period. Several sawmills and small factories sprung up to process timber for lumber, railroad ties, charcoal, and packing crates and boxes.
Read more about this topic: Cache River (Illinois)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)