Chicago Portage National Historic Site

Chicago Portage National Historic Site
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)

Show map of Illinois Show map of the US Map of the U.S. state of Illinois showing the location of Chicago Portage National Historic Site
Location	4800 S. Harlem Ave., Lyons, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Coordinates	41°48′20″N 87°48′25″W / 41.80556°N 87.80694°W / 41.80556; -87.80694Coordinates: 41°48′20″N 87°48′25″W / 41.80556°N 87.80694°W / 41.80556; -87.80694
Established	1952
Governing body	Forest Preserve District of Cook County


Chicago Portage National Historic Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	4800 S. Harlem Ave., Lyons, Illinois
Area	91.2 acres (36.9 ha)
NRHP Reference #	66000108^[1]
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is a National Historic Site ^[2] in Lyons, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Chicago Portage Forest Preserve, at the junction of Portage Creek with the Des Plaines River, on the west side of Harlem Avenue on the line of 48th Street. Preserved within the park is the western end of the historic portage linking the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River, thereby linking the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. A memorial depicting the portage of the French explorers is located at the parking area. A trail leads from the memorial down into the portage wilderness area.

The site commemorates the Chicago Portage first written about and used by French explorers Father Marquette and Louis Joliet during their exploration of the area between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. The portage crossed what was known as Mud Lake, which could be wet, swampy, frozen, or dry, depending on the season, and which has since been completely obliterated. Mud Lake extended roughly from the historic western end of the South Branch of the Chicago River (near today's Damen Avenue) to the Des Plaines River at this National Historic Site. These explorers understood the importance of the easiest crossing of the continental divide between the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean watersheds.

The site, which was designated January 3, 1952 as an "affiliated area" of the National Park Service, is owned and administered by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Visitor access is via Harlem Avenue, just north of Interstate 55. The site contains the parking area, a memorial statue, interpretive signs, and trails. Activities here are hiking and canoeing, and the Friends of the Chicago Portage sponsors guided walks. In the future, it is hoped that adjacent vacant industrial land can be used to construct a visitor's center.^[3]

References

↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ "CHICAGO PORTAGE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE". Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
↑ The Future of The Past - Friends of the Chicago Portage

External links

Chicago Portage Waterway

Protected areas of Illinois

Federal

National Historic Sites	Chicago Portage Lincoln Home

National Monument	Pullman

National Forest	Shawnee

National Wildlife Refuges	Chautauqua Crab Orchard Cypress Creek Driftless Area Emiquon Hackmatack Mark Twain Meredosia Middle Mississippi River Port Louisa Two Rivers Upper Mississippi River

National Grassland	Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

National Trails/National Heritage Area	Lewis and Clark Mormon Pioneer Trail of Tears Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area

National Natural Landmarks	List of National Natural Landmarks in Illinois

State

State Parks	Apple River Argyle Lake Beall Woods Beaver Dam Buffalo Rock Castle Rock Cave-in-Rock Chain O'Lakes Channahon Delabar Dixon Springs Donnelley/Depue Ferne Clyffe Fort Massac Fox Ridge Franklin Creek Gebhard Woods Giant City Hennepin Canal Parkway Horseshoe Lake Illini Illinois Beach James "Pate" Philip Jubilee College Kankakee River Lake Le-Aqua-Na Lake Murphysboro Lincoln Trail Lowden Matthiessen Mississippi Palisades Moraine Hills Morrison-Rockwood Nauvoo Pere Marquette Red Hills Rock Cut Rock Island Trail Shabbona Lake Siloam Springs South Shore Starved Rock Walnut Point Weinberg-King White Pines Forest Wildlife Prairie William G. Stratton Wolf Creek

State Historic Sites	List of Illinois State Historic Sites

State Forests	Big River Hidden Springs Lowden-Miller Sand Ridge Trail of Tears

State Recreation Areas	Clinton Lake Eagle Creek Eldon Hazlet Frank Holten Golconda Marina Johnson-Sauk Trail Kickapoo Moraine View North Point Marina Prophetstown Pyramid Ramsey Lake Randolph County Sangchris Lake Stephen A. Forbes Washington County Wayne Fitzgerrell Weldon Springs William W. Powers

State Fish & Wildlife Areas	Anderson Lake Baldwin Lake Banner Marsh Carlyle Lake Coffeen Lake Crawford County Des Plaines Edward R. Madigan Green River Hamilton County Heidecke Lake Horseshoe Lake (Alexander County) Iroquois County Kaskaskia River Kinkaid Lake Kishwaukee River LaSalle Lake Mackinaw River Marshall Mautino Mazonia/Braidwood Mermet Lake Middle Fork Mississippi River Newton Lake Jim Edgar Panther Creek Peabody River Ray Norbut Rend Lake Rice Lake Sahara Woods Saline County Sam Dale Lake Sam Parr Sanganois Shelbyville Silver Springs Snakeden Hollow Spring Lake Ten Mile Creek Turkey Bluffs Union County Woodford

State Natural Areas	Bartlett Woods Cache River Fults Hill Prairie Goose Lake Prairie Harry "Babe" Woodyard Illinois Caverns Kidd Lake Piney Creek Ravine Prairie Ridge Revis Hill Prairie Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak Sielbeck Forest Spitler Woods Volo Bog

State Trails	Mormon Trail Trail of Tears Tunnel Hill

Local

County Districts	Local forest and conservation districts

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

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