Road to Wapatomica: A modern search for the Old Northwest

by Bob Hunter

Looking for history on our streets and street corners, in our parks and even in our backyards, Bob Hunter sets out on a journey across the Midwest in search of memorable moments from the days of the Old Northwest. Forts, trails, trading posts, Native American villages, battlefields, gravesites and landmarks, both remembered and forgotten, are all on his radar, as are places where acts of heroism, murder, butchery and massacre took place. He tackles the job with humor, curiosity and skepticism, tries to separate legend from fact, and introduces readers to the people he encounters along the way.
Readers will
How the famous Fallen Timbers battlefield was found a quarter-mile from the spot where historians thought it was for two centuries.
How and where renowned Ottawa chief Pontiac was murdered and how his burial place has long been a topic of dispute.
How the most important early town and eventual capital in the Illinois country was swallowed up when the Mississippi River changed its course.
How the Iroquois got their name on a point in northern Michigan, hundreds of miles away from their traditional hunting ground.
How a poor translation of French written by a Jesuit missionary created the erroneous impression that Jean Nicolet was searching for a route to China when he landed in Green Bay, a mistake that became part of a well-known painting.
How the popular Indiana home of a future president, once site of negotiations with famous Shawnee leader Tecumseh, was nearly torn down to serve the purposes of a local water company.
How Bloody Run, a creek that took its name from a famous battle between British soldiers and Pontiac's forces, is now above ground only in Detroit's Elmwood Cemetery.
How Father Jacques Marquette received most of the credit for a historic journey over the Fox-Wisconsin portage to the Mississippi River, even though Louis Joliet was the expedition's leader.
How a famous early Cincinnati resident was responsible for historians misidentifying the location of Fort Washington for 150 years.
How early French explorers once trudged through mud and leeches on a portage that stood not far from Chicago's Midway airport.
Readers can simply enjoy reading of the author's experiences or use this historical travelogue as a guide to exploration of these places at their own pace. Regardless of their preference, they are guaranteed to take a series of rewarding trips back in time.

452 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2021

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about the States that comprise the old Northwest Territory (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin). The writer visited many of the historic sites and places during the covid pandemic. He discusses what happened there at the time and what landmarks are there now. I highly recommend this book to lovers of history. I would have given it 5 stars except for the multitude of typos and I wish he would have included simple maps of the present day locations, for those of us who would like to retrace his steps.

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an in-depth guidebook on two centuries of history in the Old Northwest, you couldn’t ask for better. I’ve been slowly reading this book since last summer and have already used it to plan one day trip and several others to both familiar and new sites. Anybody who studies this period knows how tricky it can be finding this history in a world that’s mostly forgotten about it. Each chapter gives good directions and helps both enthusiasts and local residents find what they are looking for, and in many cases more than they knew was even there. I had google maps open exploring this region as I read this book which was a lot of fun.

It loses a star for two reasons: For one I can’t recall a book with so many obvious grammatical errors. A majority of the chapters had everything from spelling mistakes to redundant letters, and I know for sure there was a minor geographical error for a location I’ve visited. Second, as mentioned before, this history is forgotten to most people, and it can be frustrating because it’s so critical to the formation of the United States and deserves to be remembered. That being said, constantly pointing out how society doesn’t appreciate this history quickly went from making an important point to just harping on and on about it.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

With "Road to Wapatomica: A Modern Search for the Old Northwest", Bob Hunter takes we the reader on a very interesting task of finding the history of the Northwest Territory among some of it's more famous sites as well as across some of the more obscure. At over 400 pages the book is broken down into 59 relatively short chapters that explain each of these particular sites & why we need to know about them. What I appreciated was the child in him sometimes as he challenged the reader to picture what it might have been like while some of those events were happening in those places that shaped the history of the Great Lakes states. As a native of Ohio, I learned a few things that I didn't know even though I myself had visited a number of those places. Overall this is probably one of the best books of the year & is a must read for anyone with an interest in the history of the Northwest Territory & the native peoples that once populated this area.