Heart of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Marquette and Jolliet Memorial

Charles R. Clark, photographer; courtesy of Chicago History Museum (ICHi-068311), circa 1908

1. Marquette and Jolliet Memorial Marker

Inscription. In memory of Father Marquette, S.J., and Louis Joliet of New France (Canada), first white explorers of the Mississippi & Illinois Rivers & Lake Michigan, 1673, navigating 2500 miles in canoes in 120 days. In crossing the site of Chicago, Joliet recommended it for its natural advantages as a place of first settlement & suggested a lakes-to-the-gulf waterway (see "Jesuit Relations" Vol. 56 P. 105) by cutting a canal through the "portage" west of here where begins the Chicago Drainage-Ship Canal. Work on this canal was begun Sept. 3, 1892 and received the first waters of Lake Michigan, Jan. 2, 1900. This remarkable prophesy made 234 years ago is now being fulfilled. This end of Robey Street is the historic "high ground" where Marquette spent the winter of 1674-5.
"To go and suffer everything for so glorious an undertaking" Marquette's journal.
Erected Sat., Sept 28, 1907 by City of Chicago, and Chicago Association of Commerce.

Erected 1907 by City of Chicago; Chicago Association of Commerce.

Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Industry & Commerce •

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Religion & Religious Structures • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1673.

Location. Marker has been reported permanently removed. It was located near 41° 50.539′ N, 87° 40.504′ W. Marker was in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It was in Heart of Chicago. It could be reached from Damen Avenue (known previously as Robey Street) 0.4 miles north of Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Chicago IL 60608, United States of America.

We have been informed that this marker is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.

Regionally, this marker and memorial was in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found 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 location: James Marquette (about 600 feet

Marquette and Jolliet Memorial image. Click for full size.

Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum, circa 1908

2. Marquette and Jolliet Memorial

The wooden cross pictured here is the first one at the site. It was sawed off by vandals in 1914, and replaced the next year by a new cross. This one is engraved with “Marquette and Joliet 1673” and features three fleurs-de-lys, a nod to the explorers’ French heritage. Also visible in this photo is a smaller metal cross that some people believed to have been left by Marquette at this site.

away, measured in a direct line); Canal Origins Park (approx. half a mile away); Florian S. Jacolik Park (approx. 0.7 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.8 miles away); Our Hero War Dead (approx. 0.8 miles away); Julian Carrillo (approx. 0.9 miles away); Alvaro Obregon (approx. 0.9 miles away); Venustiano Carranza (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The plaque was at the base of a large cross that overlooked the Chicago River's South Branch, marking both the end of Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet's "portage" route referenced on the plaque and, as also stated, the site of Marquette's winter quarters during his 1674-75 mission to connect with the Illinois Indians.

The location listed above is an estimate, based on a variety of sources about the cross. It is not known if this plaque still survives, and if so where it is housed. Also, although it's hard to make out for absolute certain, it appears that Jolliet's name is spelled with only one "L," mirroring how he is memorialized in the namesake city southwest of here, Joliet, Illinois.

The cross and plaque

James Marquette Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 20, 2024

3. James Marquette Marker

The 1930 memorial to Fr. Marquette is on the north side of the Damen Avenue bridge over the Chicago River, near the Banner Foods warehouse. The cross was most likely somewhere near where that warehouse is today.

were first erected in 1907 by the city and its business leaders. In 1914, vandals sawed off the cross; it was replaced the following year. In 1924, the city fully removed the memorial in order to create a new crossing for Robey Street over the river. (Robey Street was renamed Damen Avenue in 1927, after the priest who founded Loyola University and St. Ignatius High School.) After the bridge was completed, a new memorial was erected in 1930 on the new Damen Avenue bridge, honoring only Fr. Marquette's winter camp at this site. The bridge was later expanded again, and that 1930 memorial was moved to a spot north of the bridge on the east side of Damen Avenue. That marker remains in that spot as of at least 2024. Meanwhile, another cross was erected near the bridge in the 1970s, but it was removed by the 2000s.

Photographs related to the erection of this cross in 1907 also show a smaller metal cross immediately next to it. According to one caption from the Chicago History Museum, an unconfirmed story said that the cross had been found by crews excavating the area nearby, and that they believed it to have been left there by Marquette himself.

Marquette and Jolliet Cross image. Click for full size.

Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum, May 1915

4. Marquette and Jolliet Cross

The plaque was on the opposite side of the base, facing the river. The cross pictured here is the second one at this site, installed in 1915 after the first one (from 1908) was sawed off by vandals. The cross is printed with the words: "In memory of Marquette and Joliet, 1673."

Whatever the case, that cross, the larger Marquette-Jolliet cross, and any others that had been at this location were no longer there as of the 2000s.

Regarding Marquette and Jolliet Memorial. Fr. Jacques Marquette made two visits to this location on what today is Chicago's southwest side. In 1673, Fr. Marquette and his fellow explorer, the fur trader Louis Jolliet, traveled from Wisconsin to the Mississippi River, reaching the Arkansas River, far enough to confirm that the Mississippi River did indeed drain into the Gulf of Mexico. To avoid capture by the Spanish, the pair turned around to return to Wisconsin. Their return route took them up the Illinois River, to the Des Plaines, which at its closest point is about 11 miles west of Lake Michigan. From the Des Plaines River near modern day Summit, Illinois, Fr. Marquette and Jolliet "portaged" — carried their canoes over land — to the South Branch of the Chicago River, which then returned them to Lake Michigan. As referenced on this plaque, Jolliet is credited with suggesting after this trip that a canal could be built here to connect the Great Lakes with the Mississippi — a feat

Marquette and Jolliet Memorial along the Chicago River's south branch image. Click for full size.

Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum (DN-0064451), May 15, 1915

5. Marquette and Jolliet Memorial along the Chicago River's south branch

The photo appears to date to the dedication of a new cross in 1915, replacing the 1907 version that had been sawed off by vandals.

that would happen about 175 years later with the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

In the winter of 1674-75, Fr. Marquette set out on another journey to connect with, and preach to, the Illinois Indians who were in Central Illinois. Marquette, traveling with two companions, reached Chicago in late 1674, but with winter setting in, decided to encamp near this spot on the Chicago River's South Branch. Marquette and his party stayed here for about four months, until the March thaw flooded their camp and forced them to resume their journey. Marquette eventually did reach the Illinois, not far from the modern day location of Starved Rock State Park, but by that point he was gravely ill, likely from dysentery he had picked up during his 1673 journey with Jolliet. He died while returning home, near modern-day Ludington, Michigan.

This site where Marquette spent the winter of 1674-75 has, of course, changed considerably since 1675, although less so since this cross and plaque were erected in the early 1900s. Jolliet's vision for a canal came to fruition in 1848 with the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which for

"The Winter Quarters of Father Marquette, 1674" image. Click for full size.

Painting by Lawrence C. Earle; Courtesy of Chicago History Museum (ICHi-062501), circa 1900

6. "The Winter Quarters of Father Marquette, 1674"

A 1900 painting by Lawrence C. Earle depicts Marquette's 1674-75 winter camp, which was located roughly where the modern Damen Avenue meets the Chicago River.

the first time created a water connection between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. In the late 1890s, the Sanitary and Ship Canal was built in parallel to the I&M Canal to create a modern shipping connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, and to divert Chicago's wastewater away from Lake Michigan. Completed in 1900, that legendary project reversed the course of the Chicago River and converted this area into a commercial and industrial hub, which it remains today.

Also see . . .
1. The Marquette and Jolliet "Cross" Chicago, Illinois. 1907. The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal website looks at the history of the Marquette and Jolliet Cross that, for about 15 years, stood at the site of Marquette's 1674-5 winter encampment. The article includes archival photos related to memorials on the site, including another cross that was erected next to the modern bridge in the 1970s but removed by the 2000s. (Submitted on December 9, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. WTTW-11 (Chicago): Marquette Cross. A segment of "Chicago Time Machine" reviews the history

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of the "Marquette Cross" and the voyages of Marquette and Jolliet through Chicago in the 1670s. (Submitted on December 10, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

3. The Mississippi Voyage of Jolliet and Marquette, 1673. Soon after returning to De Pere, Wisconsin, after his four-month exploration of the Mississippi River with fur trader Louis Jolliet in 1673, Fr. Jacques Marquette wrote an account of the journey. While an abridged version was published in France around 1681, Marquette's full journal sat untouched in the archives of the Jesuit convent in Montreal until being found again more than 150 years later. In 1852, they were published in English for the first time. This link goes to the 1899 edition of Marquette's travels. (Submitted on December 10, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 14, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 9, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 148 times since then and 98 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 9, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3. submitted on October 21, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4, 5. submitted on December 9, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 6. submitted on October 17, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.