if youre asking then i can tell you it was from the
grand forks herald
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/15155717.htm
but as usual the relevant mbmnon tripoint is not
mentioned
recent refresher if you need it
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BoundaryPoint/message/19491
--- Brendan Whyte <
bwhyte@...> wrote:
> 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@....
> >
>
>
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