Les Amis du Fort de Chartres
Friends of Fort de Chartres
Les Amis du Fort de Chartres, or “Friends of Fort de Chartres,” is a nonprofit organization made up of volunteers striving to preserve, protect, and interpret the physical, structural and cultural heritage of Fort de Chartres in the 1700s.
In 2018, we were honored to be an officially endorsed partner of the Illinois Bicentennial. Les Amis du Fort de Chartres was awarded this title and “Illinois Proud” as we celebrated our events and projects in the Illinois Bicentennial year.
Over the years Les Amis has contributed or sponsored many projects supporting the Fort and its cultural heritage. Recently, Les Amis created a new monthly series of period demonstrations titled Art de vivre (Art of life), celebrating the everyday arts of the eighteenth century. All events can be found on Les Amis’ Facebook page.
In the last decade, Les Amis helped repair the site’s bread oven, maintained the John Guilfoil Memorial Library at Fort de Chartres through the work of a Les Amis member Kathy Janik, supported the Fort de Chartres Heritage Jardin Potager Project, and of major importance, successfully sponsored the 2016-2025 Fort de Chartres Special Events.
In 2020-2021, Les Amis led a major fundraising effort with Fort de Chartres Capital Project Campaigns to repair The Fort Chapel and the Fort de Chartres State Historic Site Land Gate.
Sponsored Projects and Events