Bison once roared some 30 million strong in the Great Plains region and also in Illinois. As the continent’s largest land mammal, bison were crucial in shaping the prairie ecosystem. However, bison nearly vanished in the late 1800s. In Illinois, overhunting and habitat destruction eliminated the bison population, with the last recorded bison being killed in 1837 near Troy Grove. By 1900, most of Illinois’ prairies had been converted to crop agriculture.
