The Mississinewa River is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
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 fro ...
in eastern
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
and a small portion of western
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
in the United States. It is long and is the third largest tributary behind the White and Little Wabash Rivers, only slightly larger than the Embarras and Vermilion Rivers.
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed May 19, 2011 Via the Wabash and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
rivers, it is part of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
watershed.
During the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, the river was the site of the
Battle of the Mississinewa
The Battle of the Mississinewa, also known as ''Mississineway'', was an expedition ordered by William Henry Harrison against Miami Indian villages in response to the attacks on Fort Wayne and Fort Harrison in the Indiana Territory. The site is n ...
, which pitted United States forces against the
Miami Indians
The Miami (Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central India ...
. Two
oilers
Oiler may refer to:
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* Replenishment oiler
* Tanker (ship)
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* Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team
* City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team
* Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta, ...
of the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
have been named
USS ''Mississinewa'' after the river. The word Mississinewa is partly derived from the
Miami Indian
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...
word ''nimacihsinwi'' which means “It lies on a slope”.
Course
The Mississinewa River has its headwaters near the Indiana state border in northwestern
Darke County, Ohio
Darke County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,881. Its county seat is Greenville. The county was created in 1809 and later organized in 1817. It is named for William Darke, an officer in the ...
, within of the start of the Wabash. Both rivers start out as drainage ditches for local farms and have very little water during drought in this immediate area. After exiting Darke County the Mississinewa flows for the remainder of its course in Indiana. It initially flows westward in a heavily straightened and
channelized course through northern
Randolph and
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
counties; it turns northwestward in Delaware County and flows through
Grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
*Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
*Grant, Inyo County, C ...
,
Wabash and
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
counties. It joins the Wabash River from the south in Miami County, about east of
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
.
Along its course the Mississinewa flows past the towns of
Ridgeville,
Albany,
Eaton,
Matthews
Matthews may refer to:
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* Matthews (surname)
Places
* Matthews Island, Antarctica
* Matthews Range, Kenya
* Mount Matthews, New Zealand
United States
* Matthews, Georgia
* Matthews, Indiana
* Matthews, Maryland
* Matthews, Missouri
* Mat ...
and the cities of
Jonesboro,
Gas City and
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
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*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
.
A series of limestone columns known as the "Seven Pillars of the Mississinewa" stands on the north side of the river about three miles (5 km) southeast of Peru in Miami County.
The
Indiana Central Canal
The Indiana Central Canal was a canal intended to connect the Wabash and Erie Canal to the Ohio River. It was funded by the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act, Indiana's attempt to take part in the canal-building craze started by the Erie Canal. ...
was to use the river for part of its length, but was never completed.
Dams
Near its mouth in Miami County, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
Mississinewa Lake Dam
Mississinewa Lake Dam is a dam in Miami County, Indiana, just outside the town of Peru, in the central part of the state.
Authorization and construction
The dam was among those authorized by the 1958 Flood Control Act. The dam was designed and bu ...
causes the river to form
Mississinewa Lake. The dam was built for
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
control in 1967.
Two related and nearby lakes in north-central Indiana, created at approximately the same time as part of the same project, were formed when dams were constructed on the nearby
Salamonie River
The Salamonie River is a tributary of the Wabash River, in eastern Indiana in the United States. The river is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 19, 2011 It is ...
and
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 fro ...
. The Salamonie and Mississinewa join the Wabash downriver from the dam on the Wabash. The dams were designed to reduce flooding in southern Indiana and nearby towns.
History
Mississinewa Battlefield
On Dec. 17, 1812, Lt. Colonel John B. Campbell with 600 mounted troops arrived at this site under orders to destroy the Miami Indian Villages along the Mississinewa River from here to the present site of Peru. The destruction of the village on this site resulted in the loss of the lives of two soldiers and eight Indians. Following the attack here, Campbell's force proceeded two miles down the river and destroyed two more villages before returning here to camp for the night. Shortly before dawn on December 18, a force of Miami Indians attacked Campbell's camp. The two-hour battle resulted in 10 soldiers being killed and 48 wounded. Approximately 40 Miami and Delaware Indians gave their lives in the defense of their lands. Having over 100 of his horses killed and fearing a second attack, Campbell ordered his troops to return to Fort Greenville late in the afternoon of the 18th. This action was one of the first ordered by General William Henry Harrison during the War of 1812.
[1988 by The Battlefield Society Marker]
In literature
The Mississinewa River is mentioned frequently in a series of poems by the contemporary American poet
Jared Carter. In 1959 and 1960, while working as a reporter for the ''Huntington Herald-Press'' in
Huntington, Indiana
Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township, Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington and Union Township, Hun ...
, Carter covered initial governmental announcements of the proposed construction of three large reservoir dams in north-central Indiana on the Mississinewa, Salamonie, and Wabash rivers.
In his first book, ''Work, for the Night Is Coming'', published by Macmillan in 1981, Carter created the mythical Midwestern county of Mississinewa. The dustjacket explains that this county is located “east of
Spoon River
The Spoon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Illinois River in west-central Illinois in the United States. The river drains largely ...
, west of
Winesburg, and slightly north of
Raintree County.” Its county seat is the actual rural town of
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
next to the Mississinewa (River) Reservoir. The existing town of Somerset was moved by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
up and out of the valley prior to the valley being flooded in 1966 to create the reservoir. The town now sits on the ridge above the river valley and reservoir in Wabash and Grant counties. To the northwest, in imaginary Prophet Township, the equally imaginary Massasauga River flows into the Mississinewa.
In that first book, two early poems, “The Undertaker” and “Monument City”, refer to the construction of a large reservoir on the Mississinewa River. This imaginary and purely literary reservoir is a conflation of the three actual lakes created by dams on the Mississinewa and the two adjacent rivers.
In Carter’s later books, ''After the Rain'' and ''Cross this Bridge at a Walk'', additional poems – “The Purpose of Poetry,” “Mississinewa Reservoir at Winter Pool”, “Foundling,” “Isinglass,” “Mussel Shell with Three Blanks Sawed Out,” and “Lost Bridge” – narrate changes and dislocations in the lives of local residents brought about by the coming of the reservoir.
See also
*
List of rivers of Indiana
This is a list of rivers in Indiana (U.S. state).
By tributary
Lake Erie
*Maumee River
** St. Marys River
** St. Joseph River
*** Cedar Creek
**** Little Cedar Creek
**** Willow Creek
*** Fish Creek
Lake Michigan
* St. Joseph River (Lake Michig ...
*
List of rivers of Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The state takes its name from the Ohio River, whose name in turn originated from the Seneca word '' ohiːyo, meaning "good river", "great river" or "large creek". The Ohio ...
References
External links
Mississinewa Lake website, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers* “A Magic Place Called Mississinewa County,�
by Bob Hammel.
{{authority control
Rivers of Indiana
Rivers of Ohio
Tributaries of the Wabash River
Rivers of Darke County, Ohio
Rivers of Grant County, Indiana
Rivers of Randolph County, Indiana
Rivers of Delaware County, Indiana
Rivers of Wabash County, Indiana
Rivers of Miami County, Indiana