Tag: Mississippi RiverThese items have all been tagged with the tag "Mississippi River", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud
Keokuk IA10
Where today and history meet The city of Keokuk has long been associated with thriving commerce and transportation before it was incorporated in 1847. The location of the Des Moines Rapids in the Mississippi River made it necessary for steamboats to unload passengers and freight and arrange for portage around the rapids. Packets, excursion boats, tows, and rafts navigated up and down the river stopping at Keokuk along their way. Many businesses flourished at the foot of these rapids making the settlement a major stopping off point for people and products continuing up the river or being transferred to prairie schooners taht transported goods to interior areas. Most of the earlier commerce was carried on around the "levee", at the foot of Main and Johnson Streets, and in an area called "Rat Row." At this time the city had not expanded up the timber covered bluffs above the river. Another natural barrier was the Mississippi River itself and attempting crossing from east to west was sometimes hazardous. The ferry "Salina" was one of the local boats that carried passengers as well as freight across to the opposite banks. In the winter crossings were made on the ice with sledges and sleighs. Consequently, in 1866 the Keokuk & Hamilton Mississippi River Bridge Co. was formed with the construction beginning in 1869 and continuing for two years until April of 1871. This was the first combination roadway and railway bridge built across the Mississippi River. The construction contract was awarded to the Keystone Bridge Company of Pittsburgh which was one of Andrew Carnegie's first business ventures at a cost of $850,000. The new "Iron bridge" furnished another link for commerce between east and west and for freight and immigration. It was said that this bridge was one of the wonders of the nineteenth century - at least to the people of Keokuk. The total length of the bridge was 3800 feet and accommodated railroad cars, horse and wagon teams, and foot passengers. Keokuk was the terminus of five different railroads: The Toledo, Wabash & Western, The Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw, The Keokuk & St. Louis, The Keokuk & St. Paul, and The Des Moines Valley Railroad. A locomotive named the "Iowa" was the first to cross the Keokuk - Hamilton Bridge on April 19, 1871. The bridge was opened to the public on June 14, 1871.
In 1916, the bridge remodeling project was completed adding an elevated roadway that accommodated wagons, automobiles and pedestrians. Today, the old iron bridge is used for rail traffic on the lower level and while the upper road is used for an observation deck allowing one of the finest views of Lock and Dam #19, the Keokuk hydro-electric plant, the Geo. M. Verity Riverboat museum and the Keokuk Union Depot.
A Sesquicentennial Mural IA5
In 1997 Keokuk marked its Sesquicentennial with a year-long celebration. The celebration included a heritage mural design contest cosponsored by Main Street Keokuk, Inc. and the Keokuk Arts center. The winning entry was submitted by local artist, Rickelle Nelson. The 10 x 36-foot mural was painted by Keokuk artist, Glen Myers. The mural depicts a visual narrative of noteworthy persons in Keokuk's history as well as the importance of area industry and agriculture. The Mississippi River with Lock and Dam 19 serves as the central focal point. This Bronze marker is inscribed with the names of those who made substantial contributions toward the mural project.
New Melle MO634
The St. Paul Lutheran Church stand directly on the edge of Missouri and Mississippi River watersheds. Rainwater from the west side of the roof eventually flows into the Mississippi River, and water from the east side finds its way into the Missouri River. Friedens (Peace) United Church of Christ's bell tower stands on the highest point of any incorporated municipality in St. Charles County.
1839 - German immigrants began arriving from Melle, Germany. They called their new settlement New Melle.
National Trail IL529
U.S. 40, which parallels I-70 across Illinois, was originally designated the "National Trail." The National Trail, or Cumberland Trail as it was first named, was laid out from Cumberland, Maryland to the left bank of the Mississippi River in St. Louis. It was the first interstate road to be built with Federal funds. The Act of Congress establishing it as a national highway was signed by Thomas Jefferson in 1806. The highway reached Vandalia, then the Capitol of Illinois in 1830.
Schaefer Mammoth Site WI420
Over 12,000 years ago, Native Americans slaughtered a Northern Woolly Mammoth in a small lake near this site. Between 1992-93, the Kenosha Public Museum excavated the site and concluded that the woolly mammoth stood at 11 feet and weighed 14,000 pounds or 7 tons. This mammoth, or Ice Age elephant, lived among spruce trees and steppe-like vegetation during the Pleistocene glacial epoch. The Schaefer Mammoth Site is one of the oldest mammoth discoveries in the New World, definitively proving that people hunted mammoth east of the Mississippi River.
Sailor from the Belle Shipwreck TX12032
Buried here are the remains of a 17th-century sailor who was a member of an ill-fated 1684-87 French expedition to the new world led by Robert Cavelier, Sieur De La Salle, Texas Historical Commission archeologists discovered the skeleton on October 31, 1996. During excavations of La Salle's ship, The Belle, which sank during a 1686 storm in Matagorda Bay. Near the skeleton, archeologists found a pewter cup inscribed C. Barange, as well as a small cask. According to historical accounts, the Belle's crew exhausted its supply of fresh water while awaiting La Salle's return from an overland trek in search of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and archeologists believe the sailor may have died of thirst. Forensic evidence indicates the sailor was between 35 and 45 years old and about 5 feet 4 inches tall, his back was arthritic, his teeth severely decayed and he had once suffered a broken nose. Louis XIV of France hoped La Salle's expedition would break Spain's tight hold over the Gulf of Mexico and assert French claim to Louisiana, but it was plagued with misfortune. One of La Salle's four ships was lost to Spanish privateers in the Caribbean, another ran aground in Pass Cavallo at the mouth of Matagorda Bay and a third sailed back to France bearing disillusioned crew and colonists. La Salle failed to find the mouth of the Mississippi, where he planned to establish an outpost for trade with the indigenous peoples, and insted landed at Matagorda Bay along the Texas Gulf Coast. Several miles inland along Garcitas Creek he constructed a small settlement, Fort St. Louis, for the remaining colonists. The final blow to the colonial experiment came when the fourth ship, the Belle, sank with the expedition's remaining supplies. The following year, La Salle met his death at the hands of his own men in east Texas while trying to reach French settlements in Canada. The ultimate demise of Fort St. Louis and the thwarted French colonization efforts opened the way for Spain's settlement of Texas and subsequent domination of the region.
The Goshen Road at Carlyle IL517
Wandering Indian tribes learned to follow these old buffalo "traces" which made easier routes to cross the tall (often 7 ft.) thick prairie grasses in search of game. In later years, western settlers traveled these dusty Indian footpaths across Illinois. These paths were eventually widened into trails by the constant turning of countless wagon wheels. The wagon trail soon came to be known as "The Goshen Road" as it led from the Shawneetown salt works near the Ohio River to the Goshen settlement (near Edwardsville) in the American Bottoms on the Mississippi River. In 1811, John Hill settled near this ford and built a block house in which to protect his family from rampaging Indians. He began a small ferrying service at the ford.
The Legend of the Piasa IL502
In 1673 Jacques Marquette reported that he and fellow French explorer Louis Joliett discovered a painting of what was probably two "water monsters" on the bluffs on the Mississippi River near present-day Alton. By 1700 those pictographic creatures were no longer visible. In 1836 the novelist John Russell described an image cut into the bluff of a legendary dragon-like creature with wings. According to Russell, the creature was called Piasa, "The Bird That Devours Men." That version of the pictograph as well as myths about the Piasa have become prominent folklore.
The First Illinois State Penitentiary IL481
1833 - 1860 The Illinois State Penitentiary at Alton was the first institution built with public funds in Illinois. Previously, prisoners sentenced in county courts were incarcerated in crude buildings, often constructed of logs, that were inadequate for the secure housing of prisoners. The Illinois General Assembly acted in 1827 to secure a State Penitentiary by petitioning the U.S. Congress to allow the sale of saline lands in southeastern Illinois. The use of these lands had previously been granted the State for use in the production of salt. A portion of the funds received by the sale of these lands was set aside for the construction of a penitentiary. In 1831 when Governor Reynolds prompted the General Assembly to appropriate an additional $10,000 needed for construction. A commission consisting of Ex-Governor Shadrack Bond, Dr. Gershom Jayne and W.P. McKee were appointed by the Legislature to review potential site for the prison. With the encouragement of Governor Reynolds, Alton was selected. After the selection of Alton as the site of a penitentiary, William Russell donated 10 acres to the state for its construction. An additional two acres were purchased approximately two miles north of this site, in an area called Buck Inn, for use as a burial ground for inmates who died in prison. When the penitentiary opened for occupation in 1833 there were only 24 cells. In 1846 an additional 96 cells were added. By 1857 the total number was 256. The location of the prison was less than ideal. The southern wall was within eight feet of the water line of the Mississippi River. The prison yard was not flagged or McAdamized and had very poor drainage. It was muddy, flooded mess during heavy rains. The prison hospital was located in the basement without windows and it flooded easily. The sanitary conditions in the prison were made...by the lack of an on site well. Water was collected from a nearby stream in barrels and transported to the prison. Prisoners had no bathing privileges. In 1847, Dorothy Dix, famed social reformer, visited the prison and reported to the legislature...the conditions at the prison were deplorable. She said this was the only prison in the United States where ...prisoners were required to stand while eating. She stated "No outlay of money can convert this prison...into a secure, commodious establishment." By 1857 the legislature saw the need to replace the institution and plans were made to construct a new prison at Joliet, selected because of the majority of the inmates were from Cook County. The first prisoners were transferred to Joliet in 1857, to begin work on the construction. The Last prisoners were transferred to Joliet in 1860.
Plum City: Early History WI356
French traders and Native Americans traveled these rich hunting grounds over 300 years ago. When European settlement began in this area about 150 years later, many settlers followed the old St. Antoine Trail east from the Mississippi River to this location. Here, at the juncture of the trail and Plum Creek, speculator Frank Moser acquired and had surveyed forty acres of land in 1857. With great hopes for future development and inspired by the profusion of plum trees in the area, he named the new settlement Plum City. The entrepreneurial Moser and his brother constructed a dam and sawmill, but the isolated town developed slowly and after eleven years only ten log and two frame buildings had been built. The economy boomed in the 1870s when many pioneering farmers bought plum City's fencing lumber for farms in eastern Minnesota. After 1900, Plum City became a prosperous farming community with a large business district. But throughout its history, the enduring heart of Plum City has remained this serene natural Spring Pond. Display # 1 - 10 of 128 |