From St. Paul to the St. Croix River, the controlling depth at low water was 16 inches. Simple Add/Edit Procedure . 29-30; Frederic L. Paxson, Railroads of the Old Northwest, before the Civil War, Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters 17 (1914):257-60, 269-71. Annual Report, 1890, p. 2034; Annual Report, 1892, pp. The works built under the 41/2-foot channel project embody these national movements and local efforts. In 1854 the Minnesota Pioneer,a St. Paul newspaper, reported that passengers and freight overflowed from every steamboat that arrived and that the present tonnage on the river is by no means sufficient to handle one-half the business of the trade.3 While two steamboats often left St. Paul each day, they could not carry goods away as quickly as merchants and farmers deposited it, and many upper river cities mirrored St. Paul.4 Each steamboat that docked created new business and a greater backlog, as more immigrants disembarked to establish farms and businesses.5, Spurred by Indian land cessions that opened much of the Midwest between 1820 and 1860, by Iowa's statehood in 1846 and Wisconsin's in 1848 and by the creation of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, passenger traffic on the upper river boomed. Congress rejected Meeker's request and the Minnesota Legislature's petition for a land grant in support of a lock and dam in 1866. The Mississippi River gave birth to most cities along its banks, and those cities did all they could to ensure that the river would nurture their growth. 92-93; Kane, Rivalry, p. 312. 7-8. Upstream from Vicksburg, the river bent north in a broad loop before turning south again, forming a peninsula opposite the city. 17 Oct 1872 BUTLER, Thomas *15: BRAKEMAN, Harriet (1835-1866): m'd 05 Jul 1852 WADSWORTH, Elisha . And, did Kelley want to make the Grange into the radical organization it became during the early 1870s, or did events force the Grange that way? https://www.historynet.com/crossing-the-mississippi/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, Turmoil in Richmond: Joe Johnston, Jefferson Davis Command Alliance Was Doomed From the Start, How Allied Forces Used Code and Hunches To Turn the Tables on German U-Boats. The Mississippi flows for some 2,300 miles, from Minneapolis to New Orleans, and into the Gulf of Mexico. Military supplies and furs would dominate the much smaller steamboat trade above Galena. 1682-83; U.S. Congress, Senate, Construction of Locks and Dams in the Mississippi River, 53d Cong., 2d sess., Exec. I expect to get through it successfully however.. If built, this project would allow Minneapolis to become the head of navigation. No. As it had learned more about the upper Mississippi River, the Corps had recognized the futility of keeping the river navigable by dredging.61 In 1874, when the Montana could not dredge due to high water, the Engineers refitted it with a pile driver and went to Pig's Eye Island, five miles below St. Paul (Figure 8). A major focus of the Big River Crossing is the "big river" itself, which visitors view from the nearly one-mile walkway built alongside the historic Harahan Bridge, one of the river's former roadways. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Having accomplished nothing as the deadline approached, the company spent $26,000 during late 1870 and early 1871. c. 1810. However, Paxson, whom he cites, shows that the railroad completed tracks from Alton to Springfield, Illinois, in 1852, and then from Springfield to Chicago, via a roundabout route, in 1853, but did not have the line in operation until 1854. Annual Report, 1894, pp. Shanai Matteson, an artist and community organizer who grew up in Palisade, stands at the site where the Line 3 oil pipeline will cross underneath the Mississippi River . Jul 1850 LYMAN, Joseph S.; m2. The Hernando de Soto Bridge, named after the Spanish explorer who reached the Mississippi River in 1541, opened to automobile traffic on August 2, 1973. After the war, he settled in New York. From Minneapolis' perspective, the channel improvement works on the upper Mississippi River only benefitted its principal rivalSt. proof Most of the trail crossed Arkansas from northeast to southwest, entering at Hix's Ferry (later Pitman's Ferry) across the The Saints left in companies and on June 14, 1846 Grandfather with 225 others arrived at the Missouri River, where a large . It came at the insistence of the states, farmers, business interests and the general public. William Washburn went so far as to purchase land at one of the reservoir sites in anticipation of a private or federal project there and later gave the land to the government. Demonstrating the Grange's early concern for improving the Mississippi River, the state Grange convention of 1869 featured the river. The Harahan Bridge opened in 1916 and was used until 1949. Warren decided to deepen the upper Mississippi by dredging. As the river fell, each wave formed a bar that acted like a small dam. One measure of this was the number of times steamboats docked at the upper river's port cities. 11, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909), pp. crossing the mississippi river in 1850 middlebury college blanket Mary Meachum Celebration The United States grew up on the water and remains a maritime nation to this day. Old Historical Atlas Maps of Arkansas. As Anti-Monopoly parties threatened to undermine the Republican party's dominance in the state and nationally, Windom and other Republicans began working for railroad reform and began seeking ways to solve the farm crisis.54, As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Transportation to the Seaboard, Windom was in an especially good position to help both farmers and his party. 21-22. From their pioneer days on, they insisted that the federal government should improve the river for navigation. And Congress had authorized, that year, a sixth dam for the Headwaters, the one at Gull Lake. 84-85, 91. The Mississippi and her tributaries are natural outlets for the west and northwest, Kelley insisted, but how little attention is given to their improvement. Railroads, he charged, control the river front in every town on the river; their boats can land freight without paying wharfage and people consider it all right. While railroads had received huge land grants, steamboats had not. 1; see U.S. Congress, House, Survey of the Upper Mississippi River, Exec. Sitting on a bluff on the rivers eastern bank and shielded to the north by a maze of swamps, bayous and bluffs, Vicksburg posed a multitude of problems to Union planners. Warren asked private companies and local interests what work they had done to improve the river's navigability. It drew national Senators and Representatives from 22 states and the governors of Minnesota, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia. Assistant Engineer W.A. Frederick J. Dobney, River Engineers of the Middle Mississippi: A History of the St. Louis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978), p. 33. The Mississippi River touches 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces and is one of the largest rivers in the world. Vol. This is a list of bridgesand other crossings of the Lower Mississippi Riverfrom the Ohio Riverdownstream to the Gulf of Mexico. Kelley and Grangers in the upper Mississippi River valley saw the river as an essential route to domestic and foreign markets. Major Francis R. Shunk to Minneapolis Mayor J. C. Haynes, February 17, 1909. It did not begin building the project, focusing instead on a provision in the grant that limited the company to selling no more than one section of land within a township. Annual Report, 1881, p. 2746. Railroads, more than the river, would meet the regions need, but not without a price, a price much too high for some. The Windom Committee Spurred by the Granger movement and navigation conventionspartly out of fear and partly out of a genuine concern to help farmers and businessesMinnesota Senator William Windom asked the Senate to establish a committee to examine the transportation problem and recommend solutions to it. Eager to begin the project, Major Francis Farquhar, the new St. Paul District commander, reported that he had initiated a survey of the river and of the dam site. Subsequently he turned to newspaper editing and publishing.20 He moved on to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House for 6 years as a Republican. . Heretofore I have had nothing to do but fight the enemy. First, the "Stars and Stripes" flag . Wing dams especially caused bank erosion by forcing the river away from one shore and against the other. So, commercial leaders in Minneapolis, supported by the State of Minnesota, sought federal support for navigation improvements in 1866. The bridge was completed on June 30, 1956. From the quarterboats you could hear the big rocks hitting each other, like a rapid-fire rage. The project would permanently reshape the river between Lock and Dam 1 (the Ford Dam) and St. Anthony Falls. All demanded the federal presence, the federal expertise and the federal dollars. 109, pp. On the early part of the journey, before they reached the Mississippi river, they bought four oxen trying to find a pair that was matched and would work together on the long haul to Oregon. Kane jumps to the construction of Lock and Dam 2, without discussing who made the final push for the project. Desiring to keep traffic flowing past their city, the citizens had attempted to close the Wisconsin channel but had been unsuccessful. No. They also raised funds during the 1850s to remove boulders and other obstacles.69 Recognizing that the river's challenges required more than these futile measures, navigation boosters began discussing a lock and dam for the river above St. Paul as early as 1852. During his trip, he fed the St. Paul Pioneer Press articles condemning railroads and the Chicago Board of Trade and promoting waterway improvement. 259, 262; Laws of the United States, pp., 155-56; H. Exec. Then, they would move to the next troublesome reach. . That destiny, they believed, was to become a commercial and industrial power as strong as the East, as well as the nation's breadbasket. In newly constricted reaches, the channel might be good for a season or two and then become difficult again, due to the river's natural tendencies or as a result of the improvement works themselves. Minnesota Historical Society. . Second, was the idea of the Grange really his? . Doc. In 1880, however, it finally authorized an experimental dam for Lake Winnibigoshish and authorized the remaining dams shortly afterwards. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing . Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. The Engineers did not build all the works depicted in one area at the same time. Ten sheets formed a continuous map of the river from St. Anthony Falls to the mouth of the St. Croix River. . he concluded, calling on Congress to appropriate funding for every navigable stream in the West and to open the natural outlets free to all.47 To restore river traffic, Kelley insisted that the Mississippi needed grants like those given to railroads, and the Grange had to establish an agent in St. Louis to buy and sell Minnesota's products. Petersen, Captains, p. 235; Tweet, History of Transportation on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, pp. By narrowing the river and thereby increasing the main channel's velocity, the Corps hoped to scour one uninterrupted navigation channel the length of the upper river.63 Wing dams, closing dams and shore protection required two simple components: willow saplings and rock. and finally crossing near St Cloud. By the fall of 1906 the Engineers had completed most of Lock and Dam 2, and on May 19, 1907, the Itura became the first steamboat to pass through the lock (Figure 11). Donald B. Dodd and Wynelle S. Dodd, Historical Statistics of the United States, 1790-1970. But City West soon declined and passed out of existence. To steamboats, even half a foot was important. The four broad projects are known as the 4-, 41/2-, 6- and 9-foot channel projects. It is a story with local and national significance. In less than 100 years, these projects would radically transform the river that nature had created over millions of years and that Native Americans had hunted along, canoed on, and fished in for thousands of years. Although New Orleans had fallen to Union troops in April 1862, the Mississippi remained closed as long as the cannons at Vicksburg, Miss., swept its waters. The next . Sherman once said, Grant is brave, honest, & true, but not a Genius.. Shermans troops, meanwhile, demonstrated against the citys northern defenses. 206-09, 209, 246; William J. Petersen, Captains and Cargoes of Early Upper Mississippi Steamboats, Wisconsin Magazine of History 13 (1929_30):227-32; Mildred Hartsough, From Canoe to Steel Barge, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1934), pp. Barns also argues that Kelley came away from his southern trip with the idea for the Grange, and that Kelley had a more radical organization in mind from the outset than Buck and other historians admit. Compatibility between rail lines made transshipment unnecessary. The Mississippi River is the second longest river in North America measuring a total length of 2320 miles from its traditional source at Lake Itasca. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . . In response to their lobbying, Congress authorized four broad projects to improve navigation on the upper river and a number of site-specific projects in the Twin Cities metropolitan area since 1866. Between 1866 and 1869, three more railroads crossed the river to Iowa, and by 1877, thirteen railroad bridges spanned the upper river (Figure 5).40 Railroads greatly increased the countrys ability to move commodities, and, yet, railroads would provoke and inflame a shipping crisis. 2103-04; Annual Report, 1869, p. 237; Annual Report, 1901, p. 2309; Raymond H. Merritt, The Corps, the Environment, and the Upper Mississippi River Basin, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1984), p. 1; Merritt, Creativity, pp. Hundreds of islands, some forming and others being cut away, divided the natural river, dispersing its waters into innumerable side channels and backwaters. 247, 40th Cong., 2d sess., p. 9. While still in his twenties, Donnelly had become Minnesota's lieutenant governor. Led by Ignatius Donnelly, Grange supporters had organized the People's Anti-Monopoly party, with a platform striking at monopolies, advocating state railroad controls, and denouncing postwar corruption. A favorable landing site on the east bank would have to be located, while other operations would be necessary to distract the Confederates. As more settlers arrived in the late 1770s and early 1800s, however, the need for more reliable ways to cross rivers became evident. Behind the bar lay a deep pool of water. This is the general phone line at the Mississippi River Visitor Center. While the Minnesota legislature appointed someone else to finish Norton's term, Windom won the seat in 1871. Support for the project came from the company's stockholders, navigation boosters and city business leaders. He evidently was a cattle herder in Mississippi, with many vouchers for his work. In 1836, the ferry carried a 23-year-old New Yorker named Nelson Dewey across the river. On June 23, 1866, Congress passed the first postwar River and Harbor Act. Porters gunboats arrived and began shelling the defenses. Pike, Sources of the Mississippi, p. 24; Keating, Narrative of an Expedition, p. 297. . First, did Kelley get the idea for the Grange on his trip through the South? Rachel Kramer/CC-BY 2.0. In 1855, the St. Anthony Express proposed building two locks and dams. 312-15, quote from p. 315; Kane, St. Anthony, p. 94. Few boats plied the river above Galena. He lists 99 boats counting for 965 arrivals in 1857 and 62 boats as accounting for the 1,090 arrivals in 1858. Crossing the Mississippi River, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 20,655 views Nov 24, 2015 77 Dislike Share Save Josh Huffines 578 subscribers Eastbound on I-10 crossing the Mississippi River in. Navigation boosters in Minneapolis failed, however, to convince Congress of the importance of their project. No. Native Americans hunted and farmed in the Mississippi valley for hundreds of years before white men arrived. The charming shops of downtown Bemidji / Lisa Meyers McClintick Other Sites Along the Great River. Alberta Kirchner Hill spent 19 summers (1898-1917) with her father's fleet as they built the dams for the government. Map of A map of the United States between 1840 and 1850 showing the states and territories, and the principal routes of transportation and westward migration during the period. 58, 39th Cong., 2d sess., p. 46; Kane, St. Anthony, pp. Xcel Energy and CapX2020 partners navigate the permitting and construction of a significant river crossing. But in 1862, he left the river to fight in the Civil War. 148, 151-52, 155; Schonberger, Transportation to the Seaboard, pp. Further work on the project, he declared, had to wait until the Engineers could take borings, which they could not do until the state returned the grant. 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