John C. Sullivan
Encyclopedia
John C. Sullivan was a surveyor
who established the Indian Boundary Line and the Sullivan Line
which were to form the boundary between Native Americans
and white settlers in Indian Territory
from Iowa
to Texas
.
Following the Indian Removal Act
in 1830 all Native Americans west of the Mississippi River and many east of the river were moved west of the Indian Boundary Line. In 1838 disputes over the Sullivan Line were to touch off the bloodless Honey War over the boundary between Missouri and Iowa.
in 1808, the Osage Nation
, the most influential tribe in Missouri, ceded all lands west of Fort Clark
near Sibley, Missouri
in Jackson County, Missouri
. In exchange for this, the tribe was paid merchandise worth $1,500 along with a fort to protect them and a government sanctioned trading post
.
The specific boundaries:
The treaty provided the following provision:
of the Kansas River
on the Missouri River
which was a more significant geographic boundary than Fire Prairie Creek. Although no treaties were in place acknowledging the new line, the United States began to survey the new boundary line to which all were to be removed.
Sullivan was instructed to run by his boss William Rector, head of the survey agency for Missouri and Illinois territories to draw a line 100 miles (160.9 km) north from the mouth of the Kansas River and thence east 150 miles (241.4 km) and 40 chains
to the Des Moines River
.
Sullivan was to be criticized later for not extending the line all the way to the similarly named (but different) Des Moines Rapids
on the Mississippi River
at about the latitude of Fort Madison, Iowa
.
Sullivan was to begin his survey on the "far bank" of the confluence on the Left Bank of the Missouri at what is now the Clay County, Missouri and Platte County, Missouri
line at what is now property owned by Kansas City Downtown Airport
.
The 100 miles (160.9 km) mark that now forms the Iowa-Missouri border was placed just north of Sheridan, Missouri
.
Joseph C. Brown
in 1823 survey the boundary south to the Arkansas boundary. From Arkansas it has a small eastward angle to the Arkansas River
at Fort Smith, Arkansas
where it then heads due south before briefly following the Red River (Texas) to the Texas border.
The line now forms the border between Missouri and Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, and Arkansas and Oklahoma.
as he headed east to the Des Moines which he described as shallow and calm when he crossed it at just south of Farmington, Iowa
.
Sullivan was a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention that defined the state's borders.
The initial proposal for the boundaries of Missouri were close to the boundaries of today and followed the original Osage territory. There was a debate about extending the northern border 80 miles (128.7 km) further north to the mouth of the Rock River (Illinois)
at Rock Island, Illinois
and the western boundary 30 miles (48.3 km) further west to the mouth of the Wolf River (Kansas)
at White Cloud, Kansas
. The additions would have made Missouri the largest state in the Union and under Congressional pressure it was dropped back to the current configuration since the lines were already marked (plus the addition of the Bootheel
to accommodate the wishes of Mississippi River towns to stay with their Missouri compatriots.
The state's official description was:
The wording in the Constitution of "north along the said meridian line, to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the River Des Moines, making said line correspond with the Indian boundary-line" was to stir problems later since Sullivan had not crossed any rapids while a set of rapids on the Mississippi River called the Des Moines Rapids
defined the northern navigational end of the Mississippi which was 2.4 foot (0.73152 m) deep in the rapids.
In 1824, treaties for the Ioway
, Sac and Fox ceding their land in Missouri implied that the Sullivan Line was Missouri's northern border all the way to the Mississippi.
Missouri did not formally move to claim the land south of the Sullivan Line to the mouth of the Des Moines at Keokuk, Iowa
became known as Half Breed Tract and was declared part of Iowa when it joined the Union in 1846. Since it is 25 miles (40.2 km) south of the Sullivan Line it is the southernmost point in Iowa.
bought all the land west from the Indian Boundary Line and then permitted Missouri to annex the land. As part of the purchase, Missouri wanted the Sullivan Line resurveyed. Joseph C. Brown
who was involved with establishing the Fifth Principal Meridian
from which most of land in the Louisiana Territory
was mapped was hired by Missouri to resurvey the land. Brown was to say that instead of using the mouth of the Kansas, the northern should have been determined by its relation to the mouth of Ohio River
. Brown said the border should be 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of the Sullivan Line at what is now Lacey-Keosauqua State Park in Keosauqua, Iowa
. Brown's Line was not recognized by Iowa. Missouri sent Clark County, Missouri
sheriff to collect taxes in the strip and was arrested. According to legend Missouri tax collectors cut down three trees that had honey bee
hives to collect honey in lieu of taxes. State militias from both Missouri and Iowa were called out before the governors eventually agreed to let the Supreme Court decide the case which it did in State of Missouri v. State of Iowa
, 48 U.S. 660 (1849), upholding the Sullivan Line noting that is how it was written in state's constitution. The line was resurveyed to correct various jogs as disputes were to continue over the line into the 20th century.
extending from Lake Michigan
to the Fox River (Illinois River tributary)
. This was to ultimately clear the way for the Illinois and Michigan Canal
and eventually the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
connecting Lake Michigan
, Chicago, Illinois to the Illinois River
and ultimately the Mississippi. The survey done in 1818-1819 on land ceded by the Sac and Fox in the Treaty of St. Louis
. The survey resulted in several streets in Chicago having a diagonal that is at odds with the city's grid pattern.
Cadastre
A cadastre , using a cadastral survey or cadastral map, is a comprehensive register of the metes-and-bounds real property of a country...
who established the Indian Boundary Line and the Sullivan Line
Sullivan Line
The Sullivan Line is the border between Missouri and Iowa.The line was initially created to establish the limits of Native American territory ; disputes over the boundary were to erupt into the Honey War; and the boundary was to be the basis for the Iowa portion of the Mormon Trail.In 1804, in the...
which were to form the boundary between Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and white settlers in Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
from Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Following the Indian Removal Act
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.The Removal Act was strongly supported in the South, where states were eager to gain access to lands inhabited by the Five Civilized Tribes. In particular, Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in...
in 1830 all Native Americans west of the Mississippi River and many east of the river were moved west of the Indian Boundary Line. In 1838 disputes over the Sullivan Line were to touch off the bloodless Honey War over the boundary between Missouri and Iowa.
Background
In the Treaty of Fort ClarkTreaty of Fort Clark
The Treaty of Fort Clark was signed at Fort Osage on November 10, 1808 in which the Osage Nation ceded all the land east of the fort in Missouri and Arkansas north of the Arkansas River to the United States. The Fort Clark treaty and the Treaty of St...
in 1808, the Osage Nation
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
, the most influential tribe in Missouri, ceded all lands west of Fort Clark
Fort Osage
Fort Osage was part of the United States factory trading post system for the Osage Nation in the early 19th century near Sibley, Missouri....
near Sibley, Missouri
Sibley, Missouri
Sibley is a village in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 347 at the 2000 census. It is known as the home of Fort Osage National Historic Landmark.-Geography:Sibley is located at ....
in Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...
. In exchange for this, the tribe was paid merchandise worth $1,500 along with a fort to protect them and a government sanctioned trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
.
The specific boundaries:
- And in consideration of the advantages which we derive from the stipulations contained in the foregoing articles, we, the chiefs and warriors of the Great and Little Osage, for ourselves and our nations respectively, covenant and agree with the United States, that the boundary line between our nations and the United States shall be as follows, to wit: beginning at fort Clark, on the Missouri, five miles above Fire Prairie, and running thence a due south course to the river Arkansas, and down the same to the Mississippi; hereby ceding and relinquishing forever to the United States, all the lands which lie east of the said line, and north of the southwardly bank of the said river ArkansasArkansas RiverThe Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
, and all lands situated northwardly of the river Missouri. And we do further cede and relinquish to the United States forever, a tract of two leaguesLeague (unit)A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
square, to embrace fort Clark, and to be laid off in such manner as the President of the United States shall think proper.
The treaty provided the following provision:
- And it is mutually agreed by the contracting parties, that the boundary lines hereby established, shall be run and marked at the expense of the United States, as soon as circumstances or their convenience will permit; and the Great and Little Osage promise to depute two chiefs from each of their respective nations, to accompany the commissioner, or commissioners who may be appointed on the part of the United States, to settle and adjust the said boundary line.
Indian Boundary Line
In 1816 the boundary was "adjusted" 23 miles (37 km) west to the mouthKaw Point
Kaw Point is the name given to the point where the Kansas River terminates at the Missouri River in the West Bottoms area of Kansas City, Kansas. Kaw Point is also where the Missouri ceases its southerly course and turns to flow generally east through the State of Missouri to the Mississippi River...
of the Kansas River
Kansas River
The Kansas River is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name come from the Kanza people who once inhabited the area...
on the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
which was a more significant geographic boundary than Fire Prairie Creek. Although no treaties were in place acknowledging the new line, the United States began to survey the new boundary line to which all were to be removed.
Sullivan was instructed to run by his boss William Rector, head of the survey agency for Missouri and Illinois territories to draw a line 100 miles (160.9 km) north from the mouth of the Kansas River and thence east 150 miles (241.4 km) and 40 chains
Chain (unit)
A chain is a unit of length; it measures 66 feet or 22 yards or 100 links . There are 10 chains in a furlong, and 80 chains in one statute mile. An acre is the area of 10 square chains...
to the Des Moines River
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
.
Sullivan was to be criticized later for not extending the line all the way to the similarly named (but different) Des Moines Rapids
Des Moines Rapids
The Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa-Hamilton, Illinois is one of two major rapids on the Mississippi River that limited Steamboat traffic on the river through the early 19th century....
on the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
at about the latitude of Fort Madison, Iowa
Fort Madison, Iowa
Fort Madison, situated on the Mississippi River, is a city in and one of the county seats of Lee County, Iowa, United States. The other county seat is Keokuk. The population was 10,715 at the 2000 census...
.
Sullivan was to begin his survey on the "far bank" of the confluence on the Left Bank of the Missouri at what is now the Clay County, Missouri and Platte County, Missouri
Platte County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The population density was 176 people per square mile . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
line at what is now property owned by Kansas City Downtown Airport
Kansas City Downtown Airport
Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport , also known as Kansas City Downtown Airport, is a public airport located in Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri, United States. This airport is publicly owned by City of Kansas City.-History:...
.
The 100 miles (160.9 km) mark that now forms the Iowa-Missouri border was placed just north of Sheridan, Missouri
Sheridan, Missouri
Sheridan is a city in Worth County, Missouri, United States, near the Platte River. The population was 185 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a town.-Geography:Sheridan is located at ....
.
Joseph C. Brown
Joseph C. Brown
Joseph C. Brown was a surveyor in the United States who made several major surveys in the Louisiana Territory.Among his notable surveys:...
in 1823 survey the boundary south to the Arkansas boundary. From Arkansas it has a small eastward angle to the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
at Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
where it then heads due south before briefly following the Red River (Texas) to the Texas border.
The line now forms the border between Missouri and Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, and Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Sullivan Line
Sullivan drifted northward by 2 degreesDegree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
as he headed east to the Des Moines which he described as shallow and calm when he crossed it at just south of Farmington, Iowa
Farmington, Iowa
Farmington is a city in Van Buren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 756 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Farmington is located at , on the east bank of Des Moines River....
.
Sullivan was a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention that defined the state's borders.
The initial proposal for the boundaries of Missouri were close to the boundaries of today and followed the original Osage territory. There was a debate about extending the northern border 80 miles (128.7 km) further north to the mouth of the Rock River (Illinois)
Rock River (Illinois)
The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin...
at Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
and the western boundary 30 miles (48.3 km) further west to the mouth of the Wolf River (Kansas)
Wolf River (Kansas)
The Wolf River is a tributary of the Missouri River in northeastern Kansas in the United States, draining an area of in the Dissected Till Plains region....
at White Cloud, Kansas
White Cloud, Kansas
White Cloud is a city in Doniphan County, Kansas, United States. It was named for James White Cloud, son of Chief White Cloud of the Iowa Tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 176. White Cloud is the seat of government for the Iowa Reservation of Kansas and Nebraska...
. The additions would have made Missouri the largest state in the Union and under Congressional pressure it was dropped back to the current configuration since the lines were already marked (plus the addition of the Bootheel
Bootheel
The Missouri Bootheel is the southeasternmost part of the state of Missouri, extending south of 36°30’ north latitude, so called because its shape in relation to the rest of the state resembles the heel of a boot. Strictly speaking, it is composed of the counties of Dunklin, New Madrid, and Pemiscot...
to accommodate the wishes of Mississippi River towns to stay with their Missouri compatriots.
The state's official description was:
- Beginning in the middle of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of thirty-six degrees of north latitude36th parallel northThe 36th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 36 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....
; thence west along the said parallel of latitude to the St. Francois River; thence up and following the course of that river, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of latitude of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes; thence west along the same to a point where the said parallel is intersected by a meridian line passing through the middle of the mouth of the Kansas River, where the same empties into the Missouri River; thence, from the point aforesaid, north along the said meridian line, to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the River Des Moines, making said line correspond with the Indian boundary-line; thence east from the point of intersection last aforesaid, along the said parallel of latitude, to the middle of the channel of the main fork of the said River Des Moines; thence down along the middle of the main channel of the said River Des Moines to the mouth of the same, where it empties into the Mississippi River; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi River; thence down and following the course of the Mississippi River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the place of beginning.
The wording in the Constitution of "north along the said meridian line, to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the River Des Moines, making said line correspond with the Indian boundary-line" was to stir problems later since Sullivan had not crossed any rapids while a set of rapids on the Mississippi River called the Des Moines Rapids
Des Moines Rapids
The Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa-Hamilton, Illinois is one of two major rapids on the Mississippi River that limited Steamboat traffic on the river through the early 19th century....
defined the northern navigational end of the Mississippi which was 2.4 foot (0.73152 m) deep in the rapids.
In 1824, treaties for the Ioway
Iowa tribe
The Iowa , also known as the Báxoje, are a Native American Siouan people. Today they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska....
, Sac and Fox ceding their land in Missouri implied that the Sullivan Line was Missouri's northern border all the way to the Mississippi.
- The Ioway Tribe or Nation of Indians by their deputies, Ma-hos-kah, (or White Cloud,) and Mah-ne-hah-nah, (or Great Walker,) in Council assembled, do hereby agree, in consideration of a certain sum of money, &c. to be paid to the said Ioway Tribe, by the government of the United States, as hereinafter stipulated, to cede and forever, quit claim, and do, in behalf of their said Tribe, hereby cede, relinquish, and forever quit claim, unto the United States, all right, title, interest, and claim, to the lands which the said Ioway Tribe have, or claim, within the State of Missouri, and situated between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and a line running from the Missouri, at the mouth or entrance of Kanzas river, north one hundred miles, to the northwest corner of the limits of the state of Missouri, and, from thence, east to the Mississippi.
Missouri did not formally move to claim the land south of the Sullivan Line to the mouth of the Des Moines at Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa and one of the county seats of Lee County. The other county seat is Fort Madison. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Sauk Chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park...
became known as Half Breed Tract and was declared part of Iowa when it joined the Union in 1846. Since it is 25 miles (40.2 km) south of the Sullivan Line it is the southernmost point in Iowa.
Honey War
After Sullivan died in 1830, the Sullivan Line was extended in the west to the Missouri River in 1836 as the U.S. government in the Platte PurchasePlatte Purchase
The Platte Purchase was a land acquisition in 1836 by the United States government from Native American tribes all of which was east bank lands along the Missouri River that added to the northwest corner of the state of Missouri. The area acquired is almost as large as the states of Delaware and...
bought all the land west from the Indian Boundary Line and then permitted Missouri to annex the land. As part of the purchase, Missouri wanted the Sullivan Line resurveyed. Joseph C. Brown
Joseph C. Brown
Joseph C. Brown was a surveyor in the United States who made several major surveys in the Louisiana Territory.Among his notable surveys:...
who was involved with establishing the Fifth Principal Meridian
Fifth Principal Meridian
The Fifth Principal Meridian starts from the old mouth of the Arkansas River, and, with the base line running west from the old mouth of the St. Francis River, governs the surveys in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota; those in Minnesota, west of the Mississippi River and west of the third...
from which most of land in the Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805 until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed to Missouri Territory...
was mapped was hired by Missouri to resurvey the land. Brown was to say that instead of using the mouth of the Kansas, the northern should have been determined by its relation to the mouth of Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. Brown said the border should be 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of the Sullivan Line at what is now Lacey-Keosauqua State Park in Keosauqua, Iowa
Keosauqua, Iowa
Keosauqua is a city in Van Buren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Van Buren County.-History:...
. Brown's Line was not recognized by Iowa. Missouri sent Clark County, Missouri
Clark County, Missouri
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 7,139. Its county seat is Kahoka. The county was organized in 1836 and named after William Clark, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and later a Governor of Missouri Territory.Clark County is part...
sheriff to collect taxes in the strip and was arrested. According to legend Missouri tax collectors cut down three trees that had honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
hives to collect honey in lieu of taxes. State militias from both Missouri and Iowa were called out before the governors eventually agreed to let the Supreme Court decide the case which it did in State of Missouri v. State of Iowa
State of Missouri v. State of Iowa (1849)
State of Missouri v. State of Iowa, 48 U.S. 660 , is a 9-to-0 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that Sullivan Line of 1816 was accepted boundary between the states of Iowa and Missouri...
, 48 U.S. 660 (1849), upholding the Sullivan Line noting that is how it was written in state's constitution. The line was resurveyed to correct various jogs as disputes were to continue over the line into the 20th century.
Illinois and Michigan Canal
In addition to his surveys in Missouri, Sullivan also surveyed a 20 miles (32.2 km) strip of land on either side of the Chicago RiverChicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...
extending from Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
to the Fox River (Illinois River tributary)
Fox River (Illinois River tributary)
The Fox River is a tributary of the Illinois River in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois in the United States. There are two other "Fox Rivers" in southern Illinois: the Fox River and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the Wabash River near New Harmony, Indiana.-Wisconsin:The Fox River rises near...
. This was to ultimately clear the way for the Illinois and Michigan Canal
Illinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...
and eventually the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, is the only shipping link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system, by way of the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers...
connecting Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, Chicago, Illinois to the Illinois River
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
and ultimately the Mississippi. The survey done in 1818-1819 on land ceded by the Sac and Fox in the Treaty of St. Louis
Treaty of St. Louis
The Treaty of St. Louis is one of many treaties signed between the United States and various Native American tribes.-1804 - Sauk and Fox :...
. The survey resulted in several streets in Chicago having a diagonal that is at odds with the city's grid pattern.