-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        nteresting story about Minnesota's boundary
Date:   Sun, 30 Jul 2006 19:31:30 -0700 (PDT)
From:   [log in to unmask]
To:     maps-l


ANGLE INLET: Ben got a bonus
Franklin locked up Minnesota's northern 'bump' thanks to a British gaffe
By Ryan Bakken
Herald Staff Writer

That bump on the top of Minnesota map that makes the Northwest Angle the
property of the United States?

You can thank Benjamin Franklin.

At 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the early American statesman will receive credit
when a marker will be placed at the Angle Inlet School. The dedication
will be part of the annual Lake of the Woods Blueberry Festival at the
Angle, a popular destination of sports enthusiasts.

The marker is the work of the Friends of Franklin, an international
society that is holding events worldwide to mark Franklin's 300th
birthday this year. The organization promotes the study and scholarship
of Franklin, who was a scientist, inventor and philosopher as well as a
statesman.

Running the Northwest Angle ceremony is George Waters, a Friend of
Franklin who lives in Rochester, Minn. Attendees will include Lt. Gov.
Carol Molnau and officials of the Minnesota Historical Society.

"It's time to get word out about Franklin's contribution to the Midwest
and focus on that crazy bump," Waters said.

A historic oversight

The border protuberance that creates the Northwest Angle and Islands
rises above the 49th parallel, the standard border marker. It makes the
area the most northern part of the contiguous 48 states.

The bulge and the inclusion of almost one-third of Minnesota's land mass
was the result of a mistake.

The mistake happened during negotiations of the 1783 Treaty of Paris,
which ended the Revolutionary War. Franklin insisted that the border
between the United States and Canada would be the "most northernmost
point" of the Lake of the Woods through the Boundary Waters to Lake
Superior.

The British cartographer wrongly believed the Lake of the Woods led
directly into Lake Superior by way of the Pigeon River. The true
"headwaters" of Lake Superior is the St. Louis River farther to the south.

A bounty of riches

The mistake meant that U.S. land extended to what is now known as the
Arrowhead Region. The region includes the Mesabi and Vermilion iron
ranges that were important to the nation's industrialization. It also
includes tourist areas such as Northwest Angle, pine forests and the
valuable waterfront property along Lake Superior's North Shore.

"A few years later, the British realized they had made a terrible
mistake," Waters said. "After the War of 1812, they tried to get the
Arrowhead land back. They fussed around, but Franklin had enough
prestige and legacy that they left it as it was."

Waters said most historians believe that Franklin knew that Lake of the
Woods flows north into Hudson Bay, not Lake Superior. But, with the
large area of land involved and the popular fur trade at the time, he
didn't share that knowledge with the British.

"So many of things about him are so fascinating," Waters said.
Bakken reports on local news and writes a column. Reach him at 780-1125,
(800) 477-6572 ext. 125 or [log in to unmask]