May 17, 1673

Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet set out to explore the Mississippi River.

Intrigued by rumors of a great river that lay to the west, Jesuit Jacques Marquette, explorer Louis Jolliet and five other men left St. Ignace by canoe. Paddling along the northern shore of Lake Michigan and then across present-day Wisconsin, the Frenchmen reached the Mississippi River in one month.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.