DOCSLIB.ORG

PDF of Woolworth Article

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
PDF of Woolworth Article LAKE MILLE LAC O R IG IN A L R A M SE Y ! C O U N T Y I . (1849) • PRESENT — RAMSEY COUNTY ST. PAUL Spring 1967 Volume 4 Number 1 Ramsey County History Published by the RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Editor: Virginia Brainard Kunz Editorial Assistant: Nancy Woolworth CONTENTS... Early Explorers’ Trails Alan R. Woolworth Page 3 Spring Portrait of a Pioneer Photographer Henry Hall Page 9 1967 A Bridge, A Street, A Levee Volume 4 Patricia Condon Page 14 Number 1 The Saga of Charley Pitts’ Body ■ Page 19 Forgotten Pioneers... Ill Page 20 A Pioneer Seeks a Farm Page 21 The Waterways of Minnesota Page 22 RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY is published ON THE COVER: This picture of Fort Snelling, semi-annually and copyrighted, 1967, by the Ram­ taken about 1870, is an example of the work of William H. Illingworth, pioneer St. Paul photo­ sey County Historical Society, 2097 Larpenteur grapher whose career is described in the story Avenue West, St. Paul, Minn. Membership in the beginning on Page 9. This is an appropriate Society carries with it a subscription to Ramsey cover picture because it also illustrates the story County History. Single issues sell for $1.00. Cor­ of the early explorers of the Ramsey County area, beginning on Page 3. It was from the Fort that respondence concerning contributions should be expeditions of exploration set forth into the “howl­ addressed to the editor. The Society assumes no ing wilderness” of the Minnesota area between responsibility for statements made by contributors. the 1820’s and the 18S0’s. Manuscripts and other editorial material are wel­ comed but, since the Society is an eleemosynary ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: AU pictures in this is­ institution, no payment can be made for contribu­ sue, unless otherwise indicated, are from the tions. All articles and other editorial material sub­ Picture Department of the Minnesota Historical Society. The editor is indebted to Eugene Becker, mitted will be carefully read and published, if picture curator, and his assistant, Dorothy Gimme- accepted, as space permits. stad, for their help. 2 The colorful French voyageurs, the backbone of the fur trade, paddled many explorers along the waterways of Minnesota. This is a sketch of Fred Faribault drawn by F. B. Mayer about 1851. Early Explorers’ Trails Criss-Crossed Today’s Ramsey County BY ALAN R. WOOLWORTH OR CENTURIES, the area that became With the Mississippi forming the west­ F Ramsey County has been crossed and ern border of the county, those who canoed criss-crossed by the men, Indian and white, on its waters commented on its natural who came to hunt, to trade, to explore and beauty. It is indeed exciting to think of settle the northern wilderness which is now the black-robed friar, Louis Hennepin, Minnesota. being carried through the region as a cap­ The future state’s system of waterways tive of the Sioux; of Charles Le Sueur pass­ was their highway into the northland. With ing by the site of St. Paul, bemused by three major rivers, the Mississippi, the his dreams of wealth from non-existent Minnesota and the St. Croix, joining in the copper mines; of the lonely Jonathan Car­ vicinity of Ramsey County, it was inevit­ ver probing into what became known as able that most of the great explorers who Carvers Cave; of Pike and Long journey­ played leading roles in Minnesota history ing here, and of the expatriate Joseph should have participated in the explora­ Nicollet traveling on foot northward tion of Ramsey County and passed over through the County’s lakes and woodlands. parts of it. THE MILITARY explorations of the re­ gion were mounted from Fort Snelling after (For a map of Minnesota’s Waterways, the fort was established. Individually and see Page 22.) collectively, these men made their contri­ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alan R. Woolworth re­ butions to a fuller understanding of the ceived his master s degree in anthropology from nature of the region, and left behind them the University of Minnesota in 1956. He has been records which have allowed future gen­ curator of the Minnesota Historical Society’s mu­ seum since 1960. He was chairman of the North erations to peer into their times with them. American Fur Trade Conference held in St. Paul The Sioux and Chippewa Indians were in 1965 and has co-authored three archeological the first to explore the vast area of which reports for the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Minnesota became a part, and they used He presently is working on a report for the the interconnected system of rivers and Indian Claims Commission of the United States Department of Justice and the National Park Ser­ lakes which formed the region’s water high­ vice. He will be listed in the 1968 edition of Who’s ways. When the first white men arrived Who in America. He is a member of the Ramsey about 1660, they traveled by canoe along County Historical Society’s Board of Directors. His article is based on a tape recording of a the same routes which were used for the speech he gave to the Society last November. next 200 years by fur traders, explorers, 3 The Falls of St. Anthony, first seen by Father Louis Hennepin in 1680, were surveyed by a later explorer, Captain Jonathan Carver, on November 17, 1766. Father Hennepin (left) had been captured by the Sioux and taken north, through Ramsey County. Company and to control the Sioux and Chippewa Indians living there. EXPLORATION actually was incidental for many men we now romantically call “explorers.” Most were fur traders such as Fred Faribault, who went wherever there appeared to be a good prospect of finding furs. As practical businessmen competing with others, they as a matter of course con­ cealed their sources of pelts. Father Louis Hennepin embarked upon what was called an exploration but he was not an explorer, in the modem sense of the word. Not until missionaries, military expeditions and for­ the 1790’s did a trained explorer appear. gotten adventurers. Canoeists continue to He was David Thompson, a geographer use them today. who applied himself to exploration as a Minnesota’s waters flow outward in three career. The many military expeditions sent great systems—north, east and south. The into the Minnesota country, beginning in Red River of the North flows into Hud­ the 1820’s, usually had trained engineers son Bay; numerous streams flow into Lake with them. Finally, there is that neglected Superior, gateway to the Atlantic, and the figure, Joseph N. Nicollet, who arrived in Mississippi drains the eastern, central and the Ramsey County area during the mid- western portions of the state into the Gulf 1830’s. He had the scientific knowledge, of Mexico. the instruments, and the drive to complete France, first to claim and explore the a great cartographic achievement. western Great Lakes region, held the area THE FIRST white men of record en­ from the founding of New France until she tered the area about 1659 or 1660. Rad- lost it to the British in 1760 as a result of isson and Groselliers, the French traders, the French and Indian War. The British landed on the north shore of Lake Superior next controlled the region until a few years and may have visited portions of Minneso­ after the War of 1812. Although the Amer­ ta. Daniel Greysolon Duluth reached the ican victory in the Revolutionary War gave head of Lake Superior in 1679. He went the new nation a valid claim to most of to Mille Lacs Lake (later a part of Ramsey the region, it was only the founding of County for a few years) and planted the Fort Snelling in 1819 which gave the Amer­ arms of Louis XIV on a tree at the great icans true possession of the area. Military Sioux village of Kathio on the west side power was needed to wrest the land from of the lake. In June of 1680, he paddled the British fur traders of the North West along the fringes of what is now Ramsey 4 County. Opening a new route into Min­ BRITISH TRADERS and travelers nesota, he traveled from Lake Superior to poured rapidly into the Northwest after the head of the St. Croix River and down the French defeat. Jonathan Carver was it to the Mississippi. That summer he one of the first Englishmen to venture into rescued three Frenchmen held captive by the Minnesota country. He came in search the Sioux. of the legendary travel route, “The North­ One of the men was the hawk-faced west Passage,” which reputedly led to the Recollect friar, Father Louis Hennepin. Pacific Ocean, but also was charged with He had left La Salle’s post on the Illinois the task of making friends with the Sioux River in the spring of 1680 with two com­ so they would not hinder later explora­ panions. Bound, upstream on the Missis­ tions. sippi, they were captured near the modem In the fall of 1766 Carver came up the Iowa border by a Sioux war party and Mississippi, examined Carver’s Cave and taken to the vicinity of modern St. Paul. visited the Falls of St. Anthony. After Then they traveled overland through Ram­ wintering on the Minnesota River, he went sey County to Mille Lacs Lake where they on to Lake Superior and to Grand Portage. were kept as semi-prisoners until rescued Although his explorations were not of great by Duluth. Three years later, Hennepin significance, he wrote a popular travel nar­ published an account of his travels, mixing rative which created great interest in the fact with vivid fancy.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Native American Context Statement and Reconnaissance Level Survey Supplement
    NATIVE AMERICAN CONTEXT STATEMENT AND RECONNAISSANCE LEVEL SURVEY SUPPLEMENT Prepared for The City of Minneapolis Department of Community Planning & Economic Development Prepared by Two Pines Resource Group, LLC FINAL July 2016 Cover Image Indian Tepees on the Site of Bridge Square with the John H. Stevens House, 1852 Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society (Neg. No. 583) Minneapolis Pow Wow, 1951 Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society (Neg. No. 35609) Minneapolis American Indian Center 1530 E Franklin Avenue NATIVE AMERICAN CONTEXT STATEMENT AND RECONNAISSANCE LEVEL SURVEY SUPPLEMENT Prepared for City of Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development 250 South 4th Street Room 300, Public Service Center Minneapolis, MN 55415 Prepared by Eva B. Terrell, M.A. and Michelle M. Terrell, Ph.D., RPA Two Pines Resource Group, LLC 17711 260th Street Shafer, MN 55074 FINAL July 2016 MINNEAPOLIS NATIVE AMERICAN CONTEXT STATEMENT AND RECONNAISSANCE LEVEL SURVEY SUPPLEMENT This project is funded by the City of Minneapolis and with Federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior. This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability in its federally assisted programs.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lure of Niagara
    The Lure of Niagara Highlights from the Charles Rand Penney Historical Niagara Falls Print Collection 1 3 Arthur Lumley (Irish, 1837-1912), Niagara Seen with Different Eyes from Harper’s Weekly (detail), 1873, wood engraving, 13 ⁄2 x20 ⁄8 in. Robert Hancock (English, 1730-1817), The Waterfall of Niagara—La Cascade de Niagara , 1 1 1794, engraving with hand color, 9 ⁄4x 15 ⁄4 in. Asa Smith (American), View of the Meteoric Shower, as seen at Niagara Falls on the Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826-1900), The Great Fall—Niagara , 1875, 5 Night of the 12th and 13th of November , 1833 from Smith's Illustrated Astronomy, chromolithograph with hand color, 16 ⁄8 x 36 in. Designed for the use of the Public or Common Schools in the United States , 1863, 1 1 wood engraving, 11 ⁄4 x 9 ⁄2 in. IntroTdheu Cchtairolen s Rand Penney Collection of Historical It is believed that more prints were made of Niagara Falls before Niagara Falls Prints the twentieth century than of any other specific place, and the Charles Rand Penney Collection of Historical Niagara Falls Prints The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University acquired the Charles Rand is one of the largest collections of this genre. Viewing so many Penney Collection of Historical Niagara Falls Prints in 2006. This collection, images of one subject together, we can gain new insights not only a generous donation from Dr. Charles Rand Penney, was partially funded by about the location itself, but also about the manner in which the the Castellani Purchase Fund, with additional funding from Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Applicant's Environmental Report –
    Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant License Renewal Application Appendix E - Environmental Report Applicant’s Environmental Report – Operating License Renewal Stage Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Nuclear Management Company, LLC Units 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-282 and 50-306 License Nos. DPR-42 and DPR-60 April 2008 Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant License Renewal Application Appendix E - Environmental Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................... xi 1.0 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION ................................................... 1-1 1.1 Introduction and Background........................................................................ 1-1 1.2 Statement of Purpose and Need .................................................................. 1-2 1.3 Environmental Report Scope and Methodology ........................................... 1-3 1.4 Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Licensee and Ownership ............... 1-4 1.5 References ................................................................................................ 1-7 2.0 SITE AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTERFACES............................................. 2-1 2.1 General Site Description............................................................................... 2-1 2.1.1 Regional Features and General Features in the 6-Mile Vicinity............................................................................................. 2-2 2.1.2 PINGP Site Features......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Portrayals of Hennepin
    Portrayals of Hennepin "Discoverer" of the Falls of St. Anthony, 1680 Patricia Condon Jofinston IT HAS BEEN 300 years since Father Louis Hennepin, souls. To boot, he struggled with a seemingly insatiable one of the most controversial of explorers, "discovered " appetite for adventure. Because of this last, and his flair the Falls of St. Anthony. The story is an oft-repeated as a publicist, but also owing to fortuitous circumstances one. Hennepin himself told it first when he published — by chance, he happened to be in the right place first Description of Louisiana in Paris in 1683. Much to his — he is one of the best-remembered personages of the discredit, though, he also told it a second time and more. seventeenth century. Artists have contributed minimally These later editions of his travels were an incredible to his fame, too (of which more later), although there is no embroidery.' superabundance of depictions of him and his exploits. There seems to be no reason to doubt the piety of the Almost nothing is known of Hennepin's early life. stern-faced, straitlaced cleric. He evidently made a good Most historians agree that he was probably born and missionary, with a main concern for saving heathen baptized at Ath, Belgium, in 1640. At the age of about twenty, in France, he took the gray-cowled habit of the 'Concerning Father Hennepin in this paragraph and sev­ Recoflect fathers, mendicant preachers who belonged to eral following, the author consulted Father Louis Hennejiin, Description of Louisiana (Minneapolis, 1938), translated by the Franciscan order. In 1675, in the company of four Marion E.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    2016. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 125(2):151–157 131ST ANNUAL ACADEMY MEETING1 Presidential Plenary Address by Michael A. Homoya2 ‘‘INDIANA 1816 – CONNECTING WITH OUR PAST,PRESERVING FOR OUR FUTURE’’ Although some text has been added, the following This year, 2016, is Indiana’s bicentennial, and I generally adheres to the outline and content of would like to return to the topic, to remember a Michael Homoya’s presidential address given at the land of vast forests, expansive wetlands, clear 131st Annual Academy Meeting held in Indianapolis flowing waterways and lakes, and prairies stretch- on March 26, 2016. Citations have been added. ing across the horizon as far as the eye could see; to remember a time when herds of bison traveled INTRODUCTION ancient paths, passenger pigeons darkened the In 1916 the annual meeting of the Indiana skies, and wolves, bears and panthers roamed the Academy of Science (IAS) occurred during the land. centennial anniversary of Indiana’s statehood. The Join me as we turn the clock back more than 300 IAS president reported on the general advance- years and begin with what may be the earliest first- ments in science that had occurred worldwide person written account of Indiana’s landscape. (Bigney 1917), while others addressed advance- THE FRENCH CONNECTION ments made in Indiana during the previous 100 years, e.g., Evermann (1917) and Coulter (1917) on In December 1679, while traveling in a canoe zoology and botany, respectively. They all make with La Salle and othersdownthe Kankakee River, for interesting reading, but it was a presentation Fr.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Hennepin Trail
    ON THE HENNEPIN TRAIL^ Of the city of Ath, in the province of Hainault, Belgium, Baedeker says that it is an ancient town but that " it need not detain the tourist long." Baedeker, however, when he made this statement evidently did not have several days on his hands before the steamer sailed from Cherbourg, nor above all did he have the reverential attitude that all dwellers by the Falls of St. Anthony of Padua in the New World ought to have toward Ath as the birthplace of Father Louis Hennepin. In point of fact Baedeker does not mention Hennepin at all. And yet the famous missionary adventurer is not without honor in his own country, as will shortly be seen. Ath has a population of about ten thousand and carries on some little commercial and manufacturing business with the outside world. It is one of those tightly built little towns of narrow streets that one sees everywhere in Belgium; withal a pleasant little city in an equally pleasant setting of gently rolling and carefully cultivated country. Like so many cities in the low countries it has its canal connecting it commercially with the outside world. Its little river, in this case the Dendre, flowing in stretches through walled banks, gives the city a decidedly picturesque air. An occasional pair of wooden shoes rattles along over the cobblestone pavement. There is an ancient church or two, a donjon tower constructed by a cer­ tain count of Hainault at some time in the remote past, and the usual market place or " cloth market" where on certain days you can bargain with tight-fisted old women for the produce of the country and relieve your ensuing exhaustion at some one of the numerous cafes which line the square.
    [Show full text]
  • Father Louis Hennepin, Belgian
    FATHER LOUIS HENNEPIN, 1694 - [From an oil painting by an unknown artist in the museum of the Minn^ sota Historical Society.] FATHER LOUIS HENNEPIN, BELGIAN' It is extremely gratifying to me and to every Belgian to find that the memory of our compatriot, Father Louis Henne­ pin, is revered and the history of his achievements commemo­ rated here on the spot where he made the great discovery of the falls which he named in honor of St. Anthony of Padua. I want to thank you, not only on my own behalf, but also on behalf of the Belgian nation for this splendid tribute to the memory of our feUow countryman. And, although I have received no special message from the spirit world, I am con­ fident that the good Father Hennepin himself must look down with satisfaction upon this scene and that he is gratified to know that his great exploit is not forgotten by those who followed in his footsteps and who have built a great metropolis where he found a primeval forest. Although I have no direct communication from Father Hen­ nepin, I have here a message, which I will now read to you, from his fellow townsmen and from the mayor of Ath, where he was born: ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNE OF ATH ATH, September 20th, 1930 To HIS HIGHNESS THE PRINCE ALBERT DE LIGNE, BELGIAN AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON. HIGHNESS: The population of Ath has been deeply gratified to learn that the City of Minneapolis proposes to celebrate, on the 12th day of October next, the 250th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Falls of the Mississippi by a son of Ath, the Father Hennepin.
    [Show full text]
  • Louis Hennepin on the Native Americans
    2 Louis Hennepin on the Native Americans Johanna Auberger Introduction When the Europeans set out to travel to America, the mysterious new continent discovered by Christopher Columbus in the 15th century, their reasons for doing so differed greatly. Whereas some went for the sheer aim to explore, others tried to set up trade relations, while again others tried to spread their beliefs to the unknown people they wished to encounter. One of the individuals who tried to spread believes was the Missionary Father Louis Hennepin, who was sent on a mission in 1675 by the French King Louis XIV. His goal was not only to explore new land, but also to convert the so-called “savages” to the one true faith, which according to him was Christendom. During his travels that he conducted with Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, he did not only happen to become the first eye witness to write about the Niagara Falls, but also the first European to explore the St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi river. The contact to the Native Americans he needed in order to achieve his mission was not difficult to acquire. He was even captured and taken hostage by the Sioux at one point during his journey. However, he soon realized that the conversion itself was a much more difficult task. Due to his frequent contact with the natives, they are very present in his writings. In most of his elaborations he writes in a neutral way, but he also describes the American tribes being “The Other,” which shows his negative sentiments about them.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pilot of La Salle's Griffon
    The Pilot of La Salle’s Griffon Joe Calnan L’explorateur français Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643-1687) avait un petit caboteur à voile gréé en barque construit en 1679 pour voyager entre la rivière Niagara et le lac Michigan. La Salle a embauché un pilote qualifié et expérimenté pour mener le navire sur ces eaux, mais en moins de neuf mois suivant le début de son emploi sur les Grands Lacs, le pilote avait perdu deux barques qui lui ont été confiées et a disparu avec l’équipage entier. La perte du Griffon de La Salle a été chroniqué par le missionnaire récollet Louis Hennepin, et est devenu l’un des grands mystères des Grands Lacs . Aujourd’hui, le pilote a acquis une notoriété comme un grand hérétique danois, de mauvaise humeur, grand de sept pieds, nommé Luke Dare; mais si ce personnage a son fondement dans les sources primaires ou dans le folklore n’a jamais été clairement établi. En examinant systématiquement les origines de l'information que nous avons sur le pilote dans les documents autant primaires que secondaires, le présent article tente de séparer le folklore des sources vérifiables et mettre en lumière une image plus précise du pilote du Griffon de La Salle. At the ship’s helm was an odd sort of character. Standing seven feet tall, Luke the Dane was known for his violent temper and an attitude that spoke “does not work well with others.” Yet he was a good pilot and was needed if the Griffon was to be a success.1 We saw near the village of Matchinkoa a tree from which the bark had been removed three or four years ago, and on which was depicted a man with a tapabord hat pulled down below his ears, a grey justaucorps, breeches, short legs, a big beard, and a gun in his hand, another figure near him, tied up like a slave, and four scalps.2 When Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was given permission by Louis XIV to 1 Colleen Burcar, It Happened in Michigan: Remarkable Events That Shaped History (Guilford, 2010), 8.
    [Show full text]
  • October 19, 2019 1 Boom Island Bridge #1, Oil on Yupo $950.00 2
    James Conaway NICOLLET ISLAND: A VISUAL HISTORY September 7 – October 19, 2019 1 Boom Island Bridge #1, oil on yupo $950.00 This bridge was the only one linking Boom Island to Nicollet Island. The east channel was filled in by local businesses and Boom Island became an island in name only. It is used now by pedestrians and cyclists. 2 BSF Railroad Bridge, oil on canvas $3,200.00 In 1893 BSF Railroad crossed Nicollet Island to the east bank of the river and eastward. The current bridge is of the same design as the original bridge. 3 Mississippi Vortex, oil on canvas $2,700.00 In 1869, wealthy business men and owners of Nicollet Island, Mr. William Eastman and Mr. John Merriam, decided to dig a tunnel through the limestone under the river near the southern tip of Nicollet Island. Their plan was to provide more water power for their mills. On October 5th, the limestone shelf gave way and a vortex of raging water destroyed everything in its way –mills and all. Early news thought that the falls had been destroyed. National newspapers titled the story “the reason for Minneapolis’ existence has just been destroyed.” The breach took several weeks to close. The U.S. Congress and the U.S. Corps of Engineers finally succeeded in permanently sealing the breach and saved the falls by building a concrete dike. 4 175 East Island Avenue, oil on canvas $1,200.00 The Loberg Brothers were carpenters who originally built their two homes in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. The homes were identical to each other with the exception that their floor plans were the mirror image of the other.
    [Show full text]
  • Petaga Point Archaeological Site
    Petaga Point Archaeological Site By Jim Cummings, Mille Lacs Kathio State Park Layout & Design by Kelsey Paulsrud Illustrations by Dick Miller, Erin Cummings & David Rambow Table of Contents Where in the World is Petaga Point? ............................................................................... 1 History of the Site .............................................................................................................. 2 Archaeologists Explore Kathio ......................................................................................... 5 The Moore Family Homestead ......................................................................................... 9 Archaeological Investigations at Petaga Point .............................................................. 12 Timeline: 9,000 Years on the Peninsula ......................................................................... 20 The Kathio Artifact Inventory and Analysis Project ................................................... 24 The Artifact Collections .................................................................................................. 28 Recent Research and Public Education at the Petaga Point Site................................ 35 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 39 Where in the World The Petaga Point Archaeological Site is located in Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. The site is on a is Petaga Point? peninsula formed where the Rum River exits Ogechie
    [Show full text]
  • Illinois Prairies 101
    Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Education One Natural Resources Way Springfield, IL 62702 ENTICE – Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education Illinois Prairies 101 Part I Geology Many factors interact to determine the vegetation of any site, regardless of size. Bedrock geology, glacial history, soils, moisture, climate, grazing animals, and fire have combined to directly influence the distribution of prairies and forests within Illinois. With a different climate, glacial history or fire history, the vegetation of Illinois would have been vastly different from that observed and described by the French explorers when they arrived in the late 1600s. Some of these factors, such as bedrock, are largely obscured in Illinois by a thick layer of till deposited by the action of glaciers many thousands of years ago. The only places where bedrock is exposed are along the deeply incised valleys of the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash rivers and their tributaries, or along fault lines at various locations throughout the state. The bedrock of Illinois resulted from the deposition of marine organisms during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras in the period 65 to 570 million years ago. Bedrock from these two geologic time periods differs not just in age, but also in location and thickness. Paleozoic bedrock, the most widely distributed, is present throughout much of Illinois. Its maximum thickness is approximately 14,000 feet compared to the maximum thickness of only 500 feet for Mesozoic era bedrock present in southern Illinois. The most common and probably best-known type of bedrock in Illinois is limestone, a sedimentary rock formed at the bottom of ancient seas mostly by the deposition of shells, coral skeletons, and secretions from certain types of algae.
    [Show full text]