McKinley Park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Marquette and Jolliet Memorial

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 10, 2024

1. Marquette and Jolliet Memorial Marker

Inscription. 300 years ago, Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored these regions. The Indian trails, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi, Illinois, and the Chicago Rivers then became known and led to our great heritage.

We thank God for these natural waters and lands which we hope may be saved from pollution.

This monument is erected by the McKinley Park Civic Association and friends.

Thanks to the Bigane family for this site.

Erected 1973 by McKinley Park Civic Association.

Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Environment • Exploration • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1673.

Location. 41° 49.717′ N, 87° 40.816′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in McKinley Park. It is at the intersection of Archer Avenue and Leavitt Street, on the right when traveling east on Archer Avenue. The marker is at the southwest corner of the triangular intersection, across the street from the 35th/Archer CTA Orange Line train station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60609, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker and memorial is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: World War II Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); (Former) Schlitz Brewery-Tied House at 3456 S. Western Ave.

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(approx. 0.3 miles away); McKinley Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Boulevard System (approx. 0.3 miles away); Our Hero War Dead (approx. 0.3 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); World War I Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The Marquette and Jolliet marker was dedicated in 1973, the 300th anniversary of Jolliet and Marquette's voyage down the Mississippi.

A concrete star is embedded into the ground in front of the marker with a small medal for the American Legion on it; behind the memorial is a black sign on a post. It is possible these are remnants of what was once a war memorial but it is not certain. There is a World War II memorial nearby at American Legion Post 231, about a ¼ mile east on 35th Street, which says "Archer Leavitt Honor Roll" at the bottom. The corner housing this Marquette-Jolliet memorial is at the intersection of Archer and Leavitt, so it's possible that war memorial was originally placed here before being moved east to the post's headquarters.

Regarding Marquette and Jolliet Memorial.

Marquette and Jolliet Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 10, 2024

2. Marquette and Jolliet Memorial

Archer Avenue follows the original trail of the Chicago Portage, which connected the Chicago River, which originally emptied into the St. Lawrence River basin, with the Des Plaines River, which empties into the Mississippi. The road today parallels the route of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which today connects the two basins, as well as later railroads and Interstate 55 (the Stevenson Expressway).

It was on this passage that explorers Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit priest, and Louis Jolliet, a fur trader, completed their four-month exploration of the Mississippi River basin—the first ever by white settlers. Starting in the upper reaches of Wisconsin in May 1673, the duo traveled through that state to the Wisconsin River, eventually meeting up with the Mississippi and following that to the Arkansas River, meeting various Native American tribes and viewing the region's previously unknown plants and animals. On their return, they traveled up the Illinois River and returned to Lake Michigan via the portage route that is today's Archer Avenue. The trail between the two basins met the South Branch of the Chicago River not far from here.

About 18 months later, Marquette would return to this general area during what would turn out to be his final voyage. In the late fall of 1674, Marquette embarked south from Green Bay with the goal of connecting with a Native American

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 10, 2024

3. Marquette and Jolliet Memorial

A rear view with Archer Avenue in the background, and behind it the CTA Orange Line train's 35th/Archer stop.

tribe called the Kaskaskia. After being slowed by poor weather on his trip down from Green Bay, Marquette and his entourage wintered in 1674-75 in a makeshift cabin roughly where the modern-day Damen Avenue meets the Chicago River's south branch, about one mile north of this memorial. When the spring thaw flooded and forced Marquette and his group out of their makeshift lodgings, the group portaged back to the Des Plaines River, where he and Jolliet had begun their portage east in 1673. Marquette and his party would connect with the Kaskaskia a few weeks later, and Father Marquette preached an Easter mass at their settlement, close to Starved Rock. However, by that point Marquette had fallen very ill, likely due to dysentery he had picked up during his journey with Jolliet. Marquette was sent back to his mission and died en route, near present-day Ludington, Michigan, and the river that would later bear his name.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Chicagoland memorials to Fr. Jacques Marquette

Also see . . .
1. American Journeys: The Mississippi Voyage of Jolliet and Marquette.

Excerpt: "Once on the Mississippi, Marquette describes “a monster with the head of a tiger, the nose of a wildcat, and whisker”—a large species of catfish. On the riverbank, Marquette
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 10, 2024

4. Marquette and Jolliet Memorial engraving
A close-up of the scene etched into the memorial. It was dedicated in 1973, in honor of the 300th anniversary of Jolliet and Marquette's Mississippi River voyage, which ended through what would later become Chicago.
described the presence of large cattle, the bison. They met with bands of the Illinois tribes living in the region, who shared calumet pipes of tobacco with the French explorers. Here, Marquette describes the woven rush homes of the Illinois tribe and large gardens filled with melons, squash, beans, and tobacco. They continued downriver past the Missouri and the Ohio Rivers until stopping at the Arkansas River in July 1763. They guessed that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, and that traveling further south might mean capture by the Spaniards and so returned to the north by way of the Illinois River and Lake Michigan."

(Submitted on October 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Encyclopedia of Chicago: Jolliet and La Salle's Canal Plans.

Excerpt from the Chicago Historical Society: "With Father Jacques Marquette, Louis Jolliet traveled by canoe during the spring of 1673, first on the Wisconsin, then on to find the Mississippi River for Nouvelle France. They returned north on the Illinois River to the mouth of the Chicago River.

Jolliet made a careful notation of the physiography of the area, leading us to believe that he and his companions spent several days there. The Chicago Portage fascinated Jolliet. He recognized the potential of a direct maritime link between the St. Lawrence estuary on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf
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of Mexico, writing to another Jesuit priest: ' ...it should be easy to go as far as Florida in a bark.... A canal would need to be cut across in only half a league of a prairie in order to enter from the lake in the River St. Louis (Illinois River) which discharges into the Mississippi.'”

(Submitted on October 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 10, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 289 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.