| Sangamon River | |
|---|---|
 The Sangamon River nearDecatur. | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | SouthernMcLean County, Illinois |
| • coordinates | 40°26′43.12″N88°43′57.24″W / 40.4453111°N 88.7325667°W /40.4453111; -88.7325667 |
| Mouth | |
• location | Illinois River atBeardstown, Illinois |
• coordinates | 40°1′21.17″N90°25′58.45″W / 40.0225472°N 90.4329028°W /40.0225472; -90.4329028 |
| Length | 246 mi (396 km) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Oakford, Illinois |
| • average | 3,639 cu/ft. per sec.[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Illinois River —Mississippi River |
| River system | Mississippi River |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Salt Creek |
| GNIS ID | 421688 |
TheSangamon River[a] is a principaltributary of theIllinois River, approximately 246 miles (396 km) long,[3] in centralIllinois in theUnited States. It drains a mostly ruralagricultural area and runs throughDecatur and pastSpringfield. The river is associated with the early career ofAbraham Lincoln, who was a sometime boatman working on the river, and played an important role in early European settlement of Illinois, when the area around was known as the "Sangamon River Country". The section of the Sangamon River that flows throughRobert Allerton Park nearMonticello was named aNational Natural Landmark in 1971.
The river rises from several short headstreams in southernMcLean County that arise from a glacialmoraine southeast ofBloomington-Normal, Illinois. The head/start of the river is located just north of Ellsworth Illinois. Part of the moraine is publicly owned as theMoraine View State Recreation Area. The river's course forms a large arc through central Illinois, first flowing east intoChampaign County, Illinois, south throughMahomet, then west throughMonticello andDecatur, then turning northwest to flow along the north side ofSpringfield. It receivesSalt Creek at40°7′33.24″N89°49′30.36″W / 40.1259000°N 89.8251000°W /40.1259000; -89.8251000, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north-northwest of Springfield; then the river turns west, forming the southern boundary ofMason County withMenard andCass counties. It joins theIllinois River from the east just north ofBeardstown.[4]
The Sangamon isimpounded in Decatur to formLake Decatur, constructed in 1920–1922 to provide a water supply for Decatur. This lake, formed bydamming the main stem of the river, with no control over upstream land uses, has had major problems withsiltation andagricultural pollution. The lake often has excessivenitrate levels from agricultural runoff. Many times the city was forced to warn people not to allow babies to consume water in Decatur because of "blue baby syndrome",Methemoglobinemia. Decatur has now installed nitrate treatment to avoid this problem.[5]
The upper Sangamon, between Mahomet and Monticello, runs along the face of a terminal moraine within the Lake Michigan Glacial Lobe, which ranges in age from 28,000 to 12,000 BP.[6] During the glacial Woodfordian Substage (middle Wisconsin Stage), ice of the Lake Michigan Glacial Lobe advanced rapidly, leaving a terminal moraine parallel to the modern Sangamon River.[6] The ice stagnated and melted behind this moraine, without the meltwater overtopping the terminal moraine. Along this stretch, the eastern part of the watershed of the Sangamon therefore consists of short creeks, two to three miles (3–5 km) in length, that drain the face of the moraine. This forms an asymmetric watershed typical of rivers formed along the face of a terminal moraine.
The river was home to many different groups ofNative Americans in the centuries before the arrival ofEuropeans. While the nameSangamon is assumed to have originated from aNative American language, the exact language and any further etymology are both unknown, though various meanings, such as "good hunting grounds", "where there is plenty to eat", and "at the inlet" have been proposed.[2] In the 18th century, groups of theKickapoo settled along the river. In the middle 18th century, the region near the river was the scene of a conflict between theIllini andMeskwaki as part of the largerFrench and Iroquois Wars.French traders were active in the region throughout the middle 18th century when it was part of theIllinois Country.
The first U.S. settlers arrived in the region in the 1810s. In 1821,Elijah Iles built a log-framed store, the first commercial building in Springfield. Groups ofCumberland Presbyterians settled the river valley beginning in 1825, giving the region a distinctive culture identified and described at the turn of the 20th century byEdgar Lee Masters.
Abraham Lincoln arrived with his family in the area in 1830 to settle a section of government land bisected by the river. The site, nowLincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial, was selected by Lincoln's father after the family migrated fromIndiana. The 21-year-old Lincoln helped build a 16 foot by 16 foot (4.8 m by 4.8 m) cabin along the river. The following year in 1831, he canoed down the river to homestead on his own nearNew Salem in Menard County northwest of Springfield. Later that year he floated down the river with companions on aflatboat to theIllinois River, and then following theMississippi River toNew Orleans.
Lincoln was impressed by the navigational difficulties on the river, especially during the arrival of the firststeamship, theTalisman, a 150-ton steamer, up the river to Springfield in March 1832. Some sources state that Lincoln himself piloted the first steamship up the Sangamon to Springfield, accomplishing this feat with many men, almost as large as Lincoln, with axes to chop through whatever trees impeded the journey. More likely Lincoln acted as a guide and axeman.[7] In later years, he told of taking a steamship three miles (5 km) into the prairie after losing his way on the Sangamon during a flood. During his first campaign for theIllinois General Assembly in 1832, he made navigational improvements on the river a centerpiece of his platform. From 1848 to 1860, Lincoln practiced law in the Illinois Eighth Judicial Circuit, which meant he regularly crossed the river as he traveled around the circuit.[8]
ThePotawatomi Trail of Death passed through here in 1838.
Despite its environmental problems, the Sangamon River is a focus ofrecreation for the people of Central Illinois. Key parklands along the river, moving from upstream to downstream, includeShady Rest,Robert Allerton Park, the parks bordering Lake Decatur,Rock Springs Conservation Area, Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park, Springfield'sCarpenter Park and Riverside Park, theSangamon River State Fish and Wildlife Area,Lincoln's New Salem, Saybrook, and theSanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area.
The river was mentioned inSufjan Stevens's song "Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother!". Singer songwriter Ben Bedford references the Sangamon in several of his songs, one of which is titled after it.
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