Not sure where this was from, but it was posted today to a maps list.
Brendan
>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 rbakken@....
>