The Big Bureau Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 26, 2011 tributary of the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

in north central

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It rises approximately north of Mendota and flows southwest into

Bureau County Bureau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 33,244. Its county seat is Princeton. Bureau County is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, and the Henne ...

, turning south at

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

and then flowing east into the Illinois River floodplain. Among the creek's more notable features is the Red Covered Bridge, built in 1863, which passes over Big Bureau Creek and was once part of the Peoria Galena Trail. The bridge, located just north of

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Ecology

Currently, there is an effort underway to maintain this

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

as well to evaluate its current condition with the Big Bureau Creek Watershed Inventory and Evaluation (I&E) begun in 2003 (See the Forward and Acknowledgment section for the year 2003).

Nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

levels from surrounding farmland, sedimentation, and low water levels are the main problems to be assessed.

History

The stream is named for Michel or Pierre Bureau. Their original surname was probably Belleau, but local aboriginals may have had difficulty pronouncing the "l" sound. One or both of the brothers ran a trading post near where Big Bureau Creek empties into the Illinois River from 1776 until 1780 or 1790.Pierre de Beuro, an Indian trader
''Pioneers of Illinois'' by Nehemiah Matson, 1882, p. 229Jean Baptiste Point de Sable : the founder of modern Chicago
by John F. Swenson, 1999- . Retrieved 11 November 2010. The stream was called the Chassagauch", "Chassagoach", or "Chachagouche" River on early maps of the region.''Carte de la Louisiane ou des voyages du Sr. De La Salle''
by Jean Baptiste Louis Franquelin, 1684. Retrieved 14 September 2010. ''Carte de l'Amerique Septentrionnale''
by Jean Baptiste Louis Franquelin, 1688. Retrieved 14 September 2010.''Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi''
by Guillaume de l'Isle, 1718. Retrieved 14 September 2010. These are European renderings of the Miami-Illinois language word , which once meant 'copperhead' (

agkistrodon contortrix The eastern copperhead (''Agkistrodon contortrix''), also known simply as the copperhead, is a widespread species of venomous snake, a pit viper, endemic to eastern North America; it is a member of the subfamily Crotalinae in the Family (biology ...

) but now means '

garter snake Garter snake is the common name for small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. They are native to North America, North and Central America, ranging from central Canada in the no ...

'.''Native American place names of Indiana''
by Michael McCafferty, University of Illinois Press, 2008, p. 24. Retrieved 4 August 2010."Shall Indian languages be preserved?"
by Jacob Piatt Dunn, ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society,'' Vol. 10, No. 1 (Apr. 1917), p. 91. Retrieved 4 August 2010. was also the name of a chief and diplomat of the

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

at the

Grand Village of the Illinois The Grand Village of the Illinois, also called Old Kaskaskia Village, is a site significant for being the best documented historic Native American village in the Illinois River valley. It was a large agricultural and trading village of Native ...

, up river from

Starved Rock Starved Rock State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its . Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of th ...

, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.Chachagouesse
''Dictionary of Canadian biography online''. Retrieved 4 August 2010.

Recreation

Most land surrounding the banks of the Big Bureau Creek is privately owned. Canoeing on the creek is possible in some areas. There have been reports of class II and III rapids in high water. Brush buildup, beaver dams, and submerged rocks are always a point of concern.

References

External links

USGS Information about Big Bureau Creek
* tp://199.133.90.201/pub/outgoing/Downloads/IL_Big_Bureau_Creek/Big_Bureau_Creek_Watershed_Inventory.pdf {{authority control Rivers of Bureau County, Illinois Tributaries of the Illinois River Rivers of Illinois