Joliet and Marquette's 1673 Mississippi Expedition

French Exploration of the Upper Mississippi

In 1673, Louis Jolliet (fur trader, cartographer) and Jacques Marquette (Jesuit missionary) led the first European expedition to traverse the upper Mississippi River.

Expedition Overview

• Departure: May 17, 1673 – St. Ignace (Mackinac), Michigan.
• Route: Lake Michigan → Fox River → Portage (1.5 mi carry) → Wisconsin River → Mississippi River (at Prairie du Chien).
• Southward: Past present-day Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas.
• Key contact: Illinois (Illiniwek) at Peoria – welcomed, feasted, calumet (peace pipe) ceremony.
• Turning point: June 1673 – reached Arkansas River mouth (Quapaw villages). Learned Mississippi flows to Gulf of Mexico, NOT Pacific. Spanish presence reported downstream.
• Return: Up Illinois River → Chicago Portage → Lake Michigan → Green Bay (Sept 1673).
• Distance: ~2,500 miles round trip.

Significance

• Geographic knowledge: Confirmed Mississippi→Gulf; mapped upper basin.
• French claims: Basis for La Salle's 1682 descent to Gulf & Louisiana claim.
• Trade route: Established waterway linking Great Lakes to Mississippi Valley.
• Indigenous relations: Alliance with Illinois Confederacy; foundation for fur trade network.
• Marquette's journal: Detailed ethnographic/geographic record (published 1681).

Aftermath

• Marquette: Died 1675 (age 37) near Ludington, MI – returning to Illinois mission.
• Jolliet: Continued fur trade; explored Hudson Bay (1679); died 1700.
• Legacy: Namesakes: Joliet, IL; Marquette, MI; Marquette University; countless streets, parks.