Louis Joliet - Joliet, IL
Posted by: 
cldisme
N 41° 31.614 W 088° 04.976
16T E 409652 N 4597816
A bronze statue of explorer Louis Joliet.
Waymark Code: WM2YW3
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 01/12/2008
Views: 110
Louis Joliet was born in French Canada in 1645. He was the third son of a Quebec wagon-maker and wheel-wright. When he was 20-21 years of age, he went searching after his older brother in the Iroquois Territory.
In 1673 with Jacques Marquette, after concluding their exploration of the Mississippi River, Louis Joliet came back to towards French Canada via the Illinois-Des Plaines River Valley.
On the original 1674 map of the area Louis Joliet named a prominent
mound "Mount Joliet," from which the City of Joliet, IL is named.
After his return to French Canada, he was granted the Island of Anticosti in 1680, where he erected a fort. In 1693 he was then appointed "Royal Hydrographer."
Louis Joliet died at an unknown location in Canada while on a trip to one of his land holdings in 1700. His remains were never found.
The statue sculpted by Sigvald Asbjornsen and was erected in this location in 1903.