Bonpas Creek is a tributary of the
Wabash River
The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...
in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
.
It rises to the east of
Olney in
Richland County, Illinois. Flowing south, it forms the boundary between
Edwards and
Wabash counties. The creek is long.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed May 19, 2011 It joins the Wabash near
Grayville, Illinois. In the last of its watercourse, it occupies part of a former Wabash
oxbow bend. As such, the creek now also forms part of the state boundary between
White County, Illinois, and
Gibson County, Indiana, as flows past Grayville in the former channel.
The name is derived from the early French settlers of the
Illinois Country
The Illinois Country (french: Pays des Illinois ; , i.e. the Illinois people)—sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana (french: Haute-Louisiane ; es, Alta Luisiana)—was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is n ...
. The name probably means "good steps" or "good path". The name is pronounced locally as "Bom Paw".
Other locals such as those in nearby villages of
Bone Gap,
Browns,
Bellmont and southern Illinois communities pronounce the name as Bum-paw, with the emphasis on the Bum. This pronunciation, though not completely true to the original French, is still much closer to the correct way to say the name. A legend about how Bum-paw got its name tells of an early pioneer father traveling in his wagon across the creek with his young son from their cabin to a nearby settlement. The father it is told gets his wagon and team of horses stuck in the creek. As he wades into the water it is said the young son is saying, "Bum-paw, Bum-paw" as the father pulls the team of horses and wagon across the creek.
See also
*
List of Illinois rivers
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Illinois:
By drainage basin
Gulf of Mexico
*Mississippi River
** Ohio River
*** Lusk Creek
*** Saline River
***Wabash River
**** Little Wabash River
***** Skillet Fork
***** Elm River
***** Fox River
...
References
External links
Prairie Rivers NetworkUSGS Real-Time Stream Gage, Bonpas CreekSurfing the Lower Wabash with USEPA
{{authority control
Rivers of Illinois
Rivers of Richland County, Illinois
Rivers of Edwards County, Illinois
Rivers of Wabash County, Illinois