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James Thompson (surveyor)
James Thompson (1789October 6, 1872) was an American surveyor who created the first plat of Chicago. Born in South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ..., Thompson moved to Kaskaskia, Illinois, Kaskaskia in southern Illinois as a young man and lived in the area for the rest of his life, working primarily as a surveyor. He was hired to plat settlements at the ends of the proposed Illinois and Michigan Canal in northern Illinois; he completed the plat of Chicago, the settlement at the eastern end, on August 4, 1830. After completing his survey of Chicago he returned to the Kaskaskia area and declined an offer of land in Chicago in favor of a cash payment. In addition to his surveying work, he served in various positions such as probate judge, county commissione ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbeville, South Carolina
Abbeville is a city and county seat of Abbeville County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is located west of Columbia and south of Greenville. Its population was 5,237 at the 2010 census. Settled by French Huguenot settlers, it was named, along with the county, for the French town of the same name. History Abbeville was established by French Huguenots in 1764, at a site named by John de la Howe. It was incorporated in 1840. Famed states' rights advocate and Vice President John C. Calhoun first practiced law in Abbeville, and he was born on a farm on the outskirts in what is now Mt. Carmel. Abbeville and the American Civil War Abbeville has the unique distinction of being both the birthplace and the deathbed of the Confederacy. On November 22, 1860, a meeting was held at Abbeville, at a site since dubbed "Secession Hill", to launch South Carolina's secession from the Union; one month later, the state of South Carolina became the first state to secede. At th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vandalia, Illinois
Vandalia is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 Census, the population was 7,458. Vandalia is northeast of St. Louis, on the Kaskaskia River. It served as the state capital of Illinois from 1819 until 1839, when the seat of state government moved to the current capital of Springfield. Vandalia was for years the western terminus of the National Road. From 1836 onward, Vandalia is the home of the Vandalia State House State Historic Site. History Vandalia was founded in 1819 as a new capital city for Illinois. The previous capital, Kaskaskia, was unsuitable because it was under the constant threat of flooding. The townsite, located in Bond County at the time, was hastily prepared for the 1820 meeting of the Illinois General Assembly. In 1821, Fayette County was created, including Vandalia. The history of the name Vandalia is uncertain. Different theories can be found in almost all of the books written about Vandalia o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randolph Street
Randolph Street is a street in Chicago. It runs east–west through the Chicago Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/ I-94), and continuing west. It serves as the northern boundary of Grant Park and the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. Several large theaters, as well as city and state government buildings are on and adjacent to Randolph. Metra's Millennium Station is located under Randolph Street. History Randolph Street was named for Randolph County, Illinois, in turn named after Edmund Randolph (1753–1813), Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General. The street was part of the original plat of Chicago in the 1830s, originally ending at Michigan Avenue. In the 1850s and 1860s, gambling was a favorite pastime at the saloons on Randolph, and there were so many gunfights in the vicin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boustrophedon
Boustrophedon is a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style. This is in contrast to modern European languages, where lines always begin on the same side, usually the left. The original term comes from grc, βουστροφηδόν, ', a composite of , ', "ox"; , ', "turn"; and the adverbial suffix -, -', "like, in the manner of" – that is, "like the ox turns hile plowing. It is mostly seen in ancient manuscripts and other inscriptions. It was a common way of writing on stone in ancient Greece, becoming less and less popular throughout the Hellenistic period. Many ancient scripts, such as Etruscan, Safaitic, and Sabaean, were frequently or even typically written boustrophedon. Reverse boustrophedon The wooden boards and other incised artefacts of Rapa Nui also bear a boustrophedonic script called Rongorongo, which remains undeciphered. In Rongorongo, the text in alternate lines was rotate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of Fort Dearborn during the War of 1812, and a second fort was constructed on the same site in 1816. By 1837, the fort had been de-commissioned. Parts of the fort were lost to the widening of the Chicago River in 1855, and a fire in 1857. The last vestiges of Fort Dearborn were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The site of the fort is now a Chicago Landmark, located in the Michigan–Wacker Historic District. Background Historic events The history of human activity in the Chicago area prior to the arrival of European explorers is mostly unknown. In 1673, an expedition headed by Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette was the first recorded to have crossed the Chicago Portag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hubbard Street
Hubbard Street is a street in Chicago, Illinois named for early settler Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard. Hubbard Street has three distinct sections. The first, east of the Chicago River, runs from Kingsbury Street to Michigan Avenue. The second, longer section runs from Des Plaines Street west to Campbell Avenue (2500 W) The third and shortest section is a three-block stretch from Kilpatrick Avenue (4700 W) to Lavergne Avenue (5000 W) where it ends at the Hubbard Playlot Park. Notable buildings on this street include Courthouse Place at 54 W. Hubbard. Hubbard's Cave Where Hubbard Street crosses over the Kennedy Expressway, there is a long underpass popularly known as Hubbard's Cave. The underpass is about a quarter of a mile in length, and actually extends from Hubbard Street to Wayman Street. This tunnel-like section of the expressway was very dark to drive through until lights were added in 1962. Murals Running along the south side of Hubbard Street, from Ogden Avenue to Des Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Street (Chicago)
State Street is a large south-north street, also one of the main streets, in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. Its intersection with Madison Street () has marked the base point for Chicago's address system since 1909. State begins in the north at North Avenue, the south end of Lincoln Park, runs south through the heart of the Chicago Loop, and ends at the southern city limits, intersecting 127th Street along the bank of the Little Calumet River. It resumes north of 137th Street in Riverdale and runs south intermittently through Chicago's south suburbs until terminating at New Monee Road in Crete, Illinois. From north to south, State Street traverses the following community areas of Chicago: Near North Side to the Chicago River, Chicago Loop to Roosevelt Road, Near South Side to 26th Street, Douglas to 39th Street, Grand Boulevard to 51st Street, Washington Park to 63rd Street, Grand Crossing to 79th Street, Chatham to 91st Street, Roseland to 115th Stree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madison Street (Chicago)
Madison Street is a major east–west street in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to human intervention, the Chicago River emptied into Lake Michigan at the present day intersection of Madison Street and Michigan Avenue. Per a 1908 decision by Chicago's city council, Madison serves as the north–south dividing line for Chicago's street numbering system, while State Street serves as the east–west line. At one point, the intersection between the two streets was considered the "world's busiest corner." Notable buildings located along Madison Street include the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building, Chase Tower, Three First National Plaza, the Chicago Civic Opera House, Citigroup Center and the United Center. |
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi River, and North America's 25,000 mile river system. The population estimate was 18,742, as of 2020. It is the county seat of LaSalle County and it is the principal city of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Ottawa occupies a place on the Illinois River that has long been one end of a portage trail between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan. Here the river was reliably deep enough for canoes. The North Portage Trail connected the site over land and water to the Chicago River. Ottawa was the site of the first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates on August 21, 1858. During the Ottawa debate, Stephen A. Douglas, leader of the Democratic Party, openly accused Abraham Lincoln of forming a secret bipartisan group of Congre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. The U.S. vice president has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members. The sitting of a Congress is for a two-year term, at present, beginning every other January. Elections are held every even-numbered year on Election Day. The members of the House of Representatives are elected for the two-year term of a Congress. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 establishes that there be 435 representatives and the Uniform Congressional Redistricting Act requires t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians. In effect, the canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, the westward expansion of the United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York State. It has been called "The Nation's First Superhighway." A canal from the Hudson to the Great Lakes was first proposed in the 1780s, but a formal survey was not conducted until 1808. The New York State Legislature authorized construction in 1817. Political opponents of the canal, and of its lead supporter New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, denigrated the project as "Clinton's Folly" and "Clinton's Big Ditch". Nonetheless, the canal saw quick success upon opening on October 26, 1825, with toll revenue covering t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes, which are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario and are in general on or near the Canada–United States border. Hydrologically, lakes Michigan and Huron are a single body joined at the Straits of Mackinac. The Great Lakes Waterway enables modern travel and shipping by water among the lakes. The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area and are second-largest by total volume, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume. The total surface is , and the total volume (measured at the low water datum) is , slightly less than the volume of Lake Baikal (, 22–23% of the world's surface fresh water). Because of their sea-like characteristics, such as rolling waves, sustained wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
