of Engineers (COE) decided to use a barge-mounted shovel to break through the Mississippi River levee near Fort de Chartres, to allow flood waters to escape back to the Mississippi River channel. This did not significantly lower the water level, but the COE decided against further action. In a 3:30 a.m. decision, with the flood waters at the top of the sandbags stacked on top of the Prairie du Rocher Creek levee, all three commissioners of the Fort de Chartres – Ivy Landing Drainage and Levee District voted to use dynamite to breach the levee in two additional locations. Because of risk, the COE had argued against such a decision. The village put out a call for help and added a foot and a half of sandbags to the creek levee. Finally, the two openings allowed enough water to escape back to the main channel so that the town was saved from flooding. The levee still stands strong today. Recent history French settlers founded Prairie du Rocher circa 1722. At least twelve surviving houses in the village were built in the eighteenth century, including the Melliere House, which was constructed in 1735. Another is the Creole House, constructed in 1800, which was built in the French Colonial style by an unknown English-speaking immigrant from the eastern United States. Arts and culture French customs practiced in Prairie du Rocher include La Guiannée, a custom of caroling on New Year's Eve dating back to medieval times in France. It has been celebrated in Prairie du Rocher every New Year's Eve since settlement in 1722. The town also celebrates Rendezvous during the summer, as well as the winter, at the Fort de Chartres. During that time, people from a broad area come to camp out for the weekend. They dress like Indians and French soldiers of the mid-18th century, camp out at the fort, and re-enact the wars that decided the ownership of the fort. Fort de Chartres is a French military fort constructed in the 18th century. It later was designated an Illinois state historic site. Geography According to the 2010 census, Prairie du Rocher has a total area of , all land. Illinois Route 155 is the only state highway that runs through Prairie du Rocher. It connects the town with Ruma, to the northeast, and Fort de Chartres, to the west. Bluff Road connects the town to as far south