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Eel River (Wabash River tributary)

April 11, 2024

For the smaller Eel River in southwestern Indiana, see Eel River (White River).

The Eel River is a 94-mile-long (151 km)[4] tributary of the Wabash River in northern Indiana in the United States. Via the Wabash and Ohio rivers, its waters flow to the Mississippi River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. The Eel River rises southeast of Huntertown in Allen County and flows southwest through Allen, Whitley, Kosciusko, Wabash, Miami, and Cass counties to join the Wabash at Logansport. The river was called Kineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi - "river of the snake fish" by the Miami people, who inhabited the area at the time of European contact, the English rendered it as Ke-na-po-co-mo-co. It is the northern of the two rivers named Eel River within Indiana.

Eel River
L'Anguille River, Kenapocomoco,[1] Shoxamèkw Sipu[2]
Collamer Dam
Native nameKineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi (Miami-Illinois)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationHuntertown, Indiana
MouthWabash River
 • location
Logansport, Indiana
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average848.48 cu ft/s (24.026 m3/s) (estimate)[3]

Origins and history edit

Natural history edit

Originating as an "ice-marginal channel" at the edge of the retreating Saginaw Lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier, the Eel River was later buried by the glacier's advancing Erie Lobe.[5] As the Erie Lobe retreated, the Eel formed a single stream with what is now upper Cedar Creek in DeKalb and Allen counties. The ancestral Eel River was also fed by glacial meltwater surging under the ice from the southeast through a "tunnel valley" known today as Cedar Creek Canyon.[6] Blockage of the Eel's channel by outwash from the canyon and a decline in the volume of meltwater forced the upper Eel to change course into the canyon, creating today's Cedar Creek.[6] This is a classic example of stream piracy that shifted almost 175,000 acres (710 km2) of land from the Eel-Wabash watershed to that of the St. Joseph-Maumee.[6][7]

Indigenous peoples and French exploration edit

The waterways were where indigenous peoples settled in prehistoric and historic times, as they were sources of food and water, and the avenues for transportation and trade. The Miami, an Algonquian-speaking people, called the river Kineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi or Ke-na-po-co-mo-co, meaning "river of the snake fish."[8][9] Later French explorers, who also followed the waterways, called it the Rivière L'Anguille (Eel River).

 
Stockdale Mill on the Northern Eel River at Roann, Indiana, in June 1998.

Political and military history edit

Before the United States consolidated its hold on the Northwest Territory, the Eel formed a rough boundary between the Potawatomi tribe on the north and the Miami tribe on the south.[10] In addition, it was an area of competition between French and British colonial forces for decades before the American Revolution. Afterward, the US fought with American Indians in numerous battles sometimes called the Northwest Indian War.

In November 1780, a French militia force under Auguste Mottin de la Balme,[11] who planned to seize a British trading post on the Eel near present-day Columbia City, was destroyed by the Miami led by Chief Michikinikwa, also known as "Little Turtle".[12] On 19 October 1790, Chief Michikinikwa's warriors surprised and virtually annihilated a U.S. force under Colonel John Hardin in the Eel bottomlands southeast of present-day Churubusco.[13]

On 7 August 1791, the Eel was the scene of another battle, when General James Wilkinson destroyed the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream from present-day Logansport.[14][15][16][17]

In September 1812, Colonel James Simrall, acting under orders from General William Henry Harrison, ravaged Miami farms and villages along the Eel in present-day Whitley County. He defeated a Miami force that stood and fought.[18][19]

Literary reference edit

Ross Lockridge Jr., Raintree County, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1948), pp. 93–94.

Johnny Shawnessy probably had a better guess about the river's name than anyone else as he was the only person in the County for years who made any research into the Indian culture. He finally decided that the river's name was related to the Indian word Shakamak, meaning long fish or eel. There was a Shakamak River in southern Indiana; and in the northern part of the state, an Eel River, which in the Miami tongue had been called the Kenapocomoko, or River of Snake Fish. The only drawback to Johnny's theory was the fact that he never found an eel in the Shamucky River.

 
Eel river in early September 2015 location 41.0, -85.8

See also edit

Notes and references edit

  1. ^ "The Indians Called It Kenapocomoco". Lenape Talking Dictionary. 1991. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  2. ^ "Eel River (Indiana)". Lenape Talking Dictionary. 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  3. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Watershed Report: Eel River". WATERS GeoViewer. from the original on 2021-07-17. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  4. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 19, 2011
  5. ^ Water Resource Availability. 1996, p. 46
  6. ^ a b c Water Resource Availability. 1996, p. 47
  7. ^ p. 121.
  8. ^ Winger 1934, p. 3. The author, a professor of history at Manchester College, notes that the original form of the word was Kenapekwamakwah or Kineepikwameekwa ("Snake-Fish-Town" or "Eel River Village"), the name of the main village of the ″Kilatika Miami″or ″Eel River Miami Band″.
  9. ^ Winger 1939, p. 63. The author notes that the name is Miami in origin.
  10. ^ Winger 1939, pp. 63-64.
  11. ^ Magnin, Frédéric (2005). Mottin de la Balme, cavalier des deux mondes et de la liberté, Paris: L'Harmattan, ISBN 2-7475-9080-1.
  12. ^ Winger 1934, pp. 5-6.
  13. ^ Winger 1934, pp. 4-5.
  14. ^ Barce, Elmore, The Land of the Miamis, Fowler, IN: The Benton Review Shop, 1922, pp. 188-194.
  15. ^ Wilkinson's account of this expedition is found at American State Papers, Indian Affairs, March 3, 1789 to March 3, 1815, vol. 1, p. 134 June 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Indiana University, Glenn Black Laboratory.
  16. ^ Another account is found in James Handasyd Perkins and John Mason Peck, Annals of the West (1857) pp. 569-570.
  17. ^ Known locally as the Battle of Olde Towne, Wilkinson's raid is also described at [1] on the Cass County, Indiana USGenWeb site.
  18. ^ Winger 1934, p. 9
  19. ^ "Eel River Battlefield War of 1812", Historical Marker Database

Bibliography edit

  • "Water Resource Availability in the Maumee River Basin, Indiana, Water Resource Assessment 96-5" (PDF). Indianapolis:Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water. 1996. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  • Winger, Otho (1934). The Ke Na Po Co Mo Co: Eel River, the Home of Little Turtle. Whitley County Historical Society.
  • Winger, Otho (1939). The Potawatomi Indians (1961 reprint ed.). The Elgin Press.

External links edit

  • Sequential Development of Eel River and Cedar Creek
  • DEAD LINK
  • DEAD LINK
  • DEAD LINK
  • DEAD LINK
  • DEAD LINK
  • U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Eel River

40°45′01″N 86°22′23″W / 40.75032°N 86.37306°W / 40.75032; -86.37306

April 11, 2024
river, wabash, river, tributary, smaller, river, southwestern, indiana, river, white, river, river, mile, long, tributary, wabash, river, northern, indiana, united, states, wabash, ohio, rivers, waters, flow, mississippi, river, ultimately, gulf, mexico, river. For the smaller Eel River in southwestern Indiana see Eel River White River The Eel River is a 94 mile long 151 km 4 tributary of the Wabash River in northern Indiana in the United States Via the Wabash and Ohio rivers its waters flow to the Mississippi River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico The Eel River rises southeast of Huntertown in Allen County and flows southwest through Allen Whitley Kosciusko Wabash Miami and Cass counties to join the Wabash at Logansport The river was called Kineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi river of the snake fish by the Miami people who inhabited the area at the time of European contact the English rendered it as Ke na po co mo co It is the northern of the two rivers named Eel River within Indiana Eel RiverL Anguille River Kenapocomoco 1 Shoxamekw Sipu 2 Collamer DamNative nameKineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi Miami Illinois LocationCountryUnited StatesStateIndianaPhysical characteristicsSource locationHuntertown IndianaMouthWabash River locationLogansport IndianaDischarge locationmouth average848 48 cu ft s 24 026 m3 s estimate 3 Contents 1 Origins and history 1 1 Natural history 1 2 Indigenous peoples and French exploration 1 3 Political and military history 1 4 Literary reference 2 See also 3 Notes and references 4 Bibliography 5 External linksOrigins and history editNatural history edit Originating as an ice marginal channel at the edge of the retreating Saginaw Lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier the Eel River was later buried by the glacier s advancing Erie Lobe 5 As the Erie Lobe retreated the Eel formed a single stream with what is now upper Cedar Creek in DeKalb and Allen counties The ancestral Eel River was also fed by glacial meltwater surging under the ice from the southeast through a tunnel valley known today as Cedar Creek Canyon 6 Blockage of the Eel s channel by outwash from the canyon and a decline in the volume of meltwater forced the upper Eel to change course into the canyon creating today s Cedar Creek 6 This is a classic example of stream piracy that shifted almost 175 000 acres 710 km2 of land from the Eel Wabash watershed to that of the St Joseph Maumee 6 7 Indigenous peoples and French exploration edit The waterways were where indigenous peoples settled in prehistoric and historic times as they were sources of food and water and the avenues for transportation and trade The Miami an Algonquian speaking people called the river Kineepikwameekwa Siipiiwi or Ke na po co mo co meaning river of the snake fish 8 9 Later French explorers who also followed the waterways called it the Riviere L Anguille Eel River nbsp Stockdale Mill on the Northern Eel River at Roann Indiana in June 1998 Political and military history edit Before the United States consolidated its hold on the Northwest Territory the Eel formed a rough boundary between the Potawatomi tribe on the north and the Miami tribe on the south 10 In addition it was an area of competition between French and British colonial forces for decades before the American Revolution Afterward the US fought with American Indians in numerous battles sometimes called the Northwest Indian War In November 1780 a French militia force under Auguste Mottin de la Balme 11 who planned to seize a British trading post on the Eel near present day Columbia City was destroyed by the Miami led by Chief Michikinikwa also known as Little Turtle 12 On 19 October 1790 Chief Michikinikwa s warriors surprised and virtually annihilated a U S force under Colonel John Hardin in the Eel bottomlands southeast of present day Churubusco 13 On 7 August 1791 the Eel was the scene of another battle when General James Wilkinson destroyed the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua 6 miles 9 7 km upstream from present day Logansport 14 15 16 17 In September 1812 Colonel James Simrall acting under orders from General William Henry Harrison ravaged Miami farms and villages along the Eel in present day Whitley County He defeated a Miami force that stood and fought 18 19 Literary reference edit Ross Lockridge Jr Raintree County Boston Houghton Mifflin 1948 pp 93 94 Johnny Shawnessy probably had a better guess about the river s name than anyone else as he was the only person in the County for years who made any research into the Indian culture He finally decided that the river s name was related to the Indian word Shakamak meaning long fish or eel There was a Shakamak River in southern Indiana and in the northern part of the state an Eel River which in the Miami tongue had been called the Kenapocomoko or River of Snake Fish The only drawback to Johnny s theory was the fact that he never found an eel in the Shamucky River nbsp Eel river in early September 2015 location 41 0 85 8See also editList of rivers of Indiana Eel River TribeNotes and references edit The Indians Called It Kenapocomoco Lenape Talking Dictionary 1991 Retrieved 2023 12 13 Eel River Indiana Lenape Talking Dictionary 2023 Retrieved 2023 12 13 United States Environmental Protection Agency Watershed Report Eel River WATERS GeoViewer Archived from the original on 2021 07 17 Retrieved 2021 07 17 U S Geological Survey National Hydrography Dataset high resolution flowline data The National Map Archived 2012 03 29 at the Wayback Machine accessed May 19 2011 Water Resource Availability 1996 p 46 a b c Water Resource Availability 1996 p 47 p 121 Winger 1934 p 3 The author a professor of history at Manchester College notes that the original form of the word was Kenapekwamakwah or Kineepikwameekwa Snake Fish Town or Eel River Village the name of the main village of the Kilatika Miami or Eel River Miami Band Winger 1939 p 63 The author notes that the name is Miami in origin Winger 1939 pp 63 64 Magnin Frederic 2005 Mottin de la Balme cavalier des deux mondes et de la liberte Paris L Harmattan ISBN 2 7475 9080 1 Winger 1934 pp 5 6 Winger 1934 pp 4 5 Barce Elmore The Land of the Miamis Fowler IN The Benton Review Shop 1922 pp 188 194 Wilkinson s account of this expedition is found at American State Papers Indian Affairs March 3 1789 to March 3 1815 vol 1 p 134 Archived June 13 2008 at the Wayback Machine Indiana University Glenn Black Laboratory Another account is found in James Handasyd Perkins and John Mason Peck Annals of the West 1857 pp 569 570 Known locally as the Battle of Olde Towne Wilkinson s raid is also described at 1 on the Cass County Indiana USGenWeb site Winger 1934 p 9 Eel River Battlefield War of 1812 Historical Marker DatabaseBibliography edit Water Resource Availability in the Maumee River Basin Indiana Water Resource Assessment 96 5 PDF Indianapolis Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Water 1996 Retrieved 19 May 2017 Winger Otho 1934 The Ke Na Po Co Mo Co Eel River the Home of Little Turtle Whitley County Historical Society Winger Otho 1939 The Potawatomi Indians 1961 reprint ed The Elgin Press External links editSequential Development of Eel River and Cedar Creek Little Turtle the Great Eel River Chief DEAD LINK The Eel River Post and Fort DEAD LINK Along the Eel DEAD LINK Introduction to the Eel River DEAD LINK The Eel River of Northern Indiana DEAD LINK U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Eel River 40 45 01 N 86 22 23 W 40 75032 N 86 37306 W 40 75032 86 37306 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eel River Wabash River tributary amp oldid 1189903979, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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