The Big Sandy River

Long before the Oregon/California westward migration, animals instinctively stopped at the Big Sandy River during their migration process. With South Pass just 35 miles east, the river was also a natural East-West pathway for man. The pathway, in combination with ...

The Detroit River

The Detroit River is unique in Canada, the United States and indeed, the world. Its shores embrace the largest metropolitan area on any international border - but rather than separating communities, the river connects them culturally and economically.

Archaeological finds ...

Maneuvering to the North Anna River

Unable to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederates during the Spotsylvania Courthouse battles 8-19 May 1864, Union commander Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's forces maneuvered east and south forcing Lee to abandon his entrenched position. The Confederates moved south along ...

The Mississippi River in the Civil War

The Mississippi River in the Civil War

"Whatever nation gets control of the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, will control the continent."

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1861

The goal of both the Northern (Federal or Union) and Southern (Confederate) armies was to ...

Peoria on The Riverfront / Peoria

[Marker Front]:

Peoria on The Riverfront

The Illinois River is the Major Waterway within Illinois Boundaries. Native Americans are known to have lived along its banks for 11,000 years.

1673 Along this riverfront Frenchmen Marquette and Jolliet encountered the Peoria Tribe of the ...

Crossing the River

With the growth of Boscobel as a shipping point for products from the region, a dependable crossing of the river became an economic necessity. The city was incorporated in 1864 so it could issue bonds for the construction of a ...

The River

Long before people came to what we now call Wisconsin, the Ice Age shaped the land.

The lower Wisconsin River Valley looks as it does today because the glaciers covering eastern and northern Wisconsin 10,000 years ago melted away. A huge ...

The Jamestown Riverfront 1630-1690

Jamestown provided the colonists with a deep-water port in a defensible location. Because shoreline settlements and camps allowed for easier transportation and a ready source of food, the colonists and Virginia Indians both lived on or near major waterways.

The James ...

The Changing River Valley

Over the last 300 years, the now tranquil Patapsco Valley has seen dramatic changes.

During the industrial revolution, resource-hungry industries stripped trees from the hillsides to make charcoal. Every household needed wood as its lifeline for warmth and cooking - for ...

The River Makes Electricity

Bloede Dame

The Patapsco Electric & Manufacturing Company, organized by Victor Gustav Bloede, harnessed the river's waterpower to generate electricity. Completed in 1907, the Bloede Dam furnished electricity for Ellicott City, Catonsville, Carroll, Halethorpe, Arbutus, St. Denis, Elkridge, and parts west ...