Indian Boundary Line
Have you seen the brown and white lettered signs around town marking the Indian Boundary Line? Maybe you saw them on Boughton Road, Royce Road, or in the park of the same name. Have you wondered why they are there are what they mean? Read on for an explanation.
The Indian Boundary is a 20-mile wide area, 10 miles on either side of the Des Plaines River, running south from Lake Michigan to the Kankakee River with the northern boundary line running through northern and western Bolingbrook.
This boundary was ceded to the U.S. Government in 1816 by three allied Indian tribes - the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi, to allow traders freedom to travel without fear of being attacked between Chicago and Ottawa.
The Indian Boundary Line signs, which mark the northern edge of the "safe passage zone," were first installed largely due to the efforts of James Bingle, DuPage Township Assessor, member of Will County Board, and area historian.
The first white men to explore this area were map maker Louis Joliet and Jesuit missionary Father Pierre Marquette, who in 1673 found the Illinois River and Des Plaines River route between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, known as the Chicago Portage, of great transportation value.
But it wasn't until about a century and a half later, after the war of 1812, that the U.S. Government was able to sign the treaty with the three Indian tribes who surrendered the land that made up the Chicago Portage.
Traders used the Chicago Portage, but the route was used more after the Erie Canal in New York was built in the early 1820s.
Before the canal was dug, people used the Ohio River to get to Illinois, so much of the southern portion of the state was settled before the northern. There was more and more interest in this "safe passage" route after the Erie Canal was built.
At about the time the canal was built, the Chicago Portage was being surveyed for the purpose of building the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which opened in 1848.
Historian Bingle found this all fascinating and asked the Will County Board if they could mark the Indian Boundary Line. His request was approved and six wooden posts were put up, marking the boundary line. But they became damaged, were stolen, or were taken down when Boughton Road was widened.
When Bolingbrook's Historic Preservation Commission was formed in 1993, they thought it was a good idea to put them back up. There are now 14 signs, according to the Village Clerk's Office.
Excerpted from Bolingbrook Keeps Making History, Volume 3, compiled by James D. Bingle for the Bolingbrook Historic Preservation Commission and an article in The Sun newspaper, published July 27, 1994.
Copies of the three volumes are available through the Commission at all our events or at the Village Hall. Inquire at the Executive Offices.
The Indian Boundary is a 20-mile wide area, 10 miles on either side of the Des Plaines River, running south from Lake Michigan to the Kankakee River with the northern boundary line running through northern and western Bolingbrook.
This boundary was ceded to the U.S. Government in 1816 by three allied Indian tribes - the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi, to allow traders freedom to travel without fear of being attacked between Chicago and Ottawa.
The Indian Boundary Line signs, which mark the northern edge of the "safe passage zone," were first installed largely due to the efforts of James Bingle, DuPage Township Assessor, member of Will County Board, and area historian.
The first white men to explore this area were map maker Louis Joliet and Jesuit missionary Father Pierre Marquette, who in 1673 found the Illinois River and Des Plaines River route between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, known as the Chicago Portage, of great transportation value.
But it wasn't until about a century and a half later, after the war of 1812, that the U.S. Government was able to sign the treaty with the three Indian tribes who surrendered the land that made up the Chicago Portage.
Traders used the Chicago Portage, but the route was used more after the Erie Canal in New York was built in the early 1820s.
Before the canal was dug, people used the Ohio River to get to Illinois, so much of the southern portion of the state was settled before the northern. There was more and more interest in this "safe passage" route after the Erie Canal was built.
At about the time the canal was built, the Chicago Portage was being surveyed for the purpose of building the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which opened in 1848.
Historian Bingle found this all fascinating and asked the Will County Board if they could mark the Indian Boundary Line. His request was approved and six wooden posts were put up, marking the boundary line. But they became damaged, were stolen, or were taken down when Boughton Road was widened.
When Bolingbrook's Historic Preservation Commission was formed in 1993, they thought it was a good idea to put them back up. There are now 14 signs, according to the Village Clerk's Office.
Excerpted from Bolingbrook Keeps Making History, Volume 3, compiled by James D. Bingle for the Bolingbrook Historic Preservation Commission and an article in The Sun newspaper, published July 27, 1994.
Copies of the three volumes are available through the Commission at all our events or at the Village Hall. Inquire at the Executive Offices.