I believe a similar thing happened with the Missouri River that affected part of Nebraska, perhaps in the Bellevue area.
Does anyone have the poop on that?
I assuming that you don’t mean the ENTIRE state of Illinois…
Yes, there are several instances of bits of states lying on the other side of the river that forms their border, due to the river changing course over the years. It makes more sense than for the land to change hands every time a river meanders.
Many of the states along the Mississippi have small parts on the other side…
When I was a child, the Rio Grande was the border between Texas and Mexico. I know the river shifts from time to time, usually to the advantage of the US, and that this had become a sore point by the 1960’s, but I’m not sure what was done about it.
*The following is copied from http://www.cityofcarterlake.com/ *
Carter Lake, Iowa is uniquely located on the West Side of the Missouri River. It is a city surrounded on three sides by Omaha, Nebraska, and its fourth boundary is the Missouri River. The oxbow shaped lake is approximately 323 acres with the city being approximately 1,236 acres.
In 1853, Edmond Jefferies filed a claim on 30 acres of land, which today is known as Carter Lake, Iowa. During the next 14 years, the Missouri River slowly shifted its channel, enlarging Mr. Jefferies’ original 30 acres into 78 acres.
In 1877, flooding and shifting of the Missouri River created an oxbow lake, originally called Cut-Off lake and later Lake Nakomis, and left about 2,000 acres belonging to the State of Iowa, bounded on three sides by the State of Nebraska.
After extensive litigation between Iowa and Nebraska, in 1892 the United States Supreme Court finally ruled that Carter Lake belonged to Iowa (145 U.S. 519).
In 1930, Carter Lake became an officially incorporated city in the State of Iowa and today the Missouri River has stabilized.
Today, Carter Lake continues to grow and thrive paradoxically, as a small Iowa community surrounded by Omaha, Nebraska.
A link to the column is appeciated. Providing one can be as simple as pasting the URL into your post, making sure to leave a blank space on either side of it. Like so: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_167a.html
Worded like that, of course “Illinois is east”. I’d take that bet and expect to win. Now, if the wording was “ALL of Illinois…”
As similar example for DownUnder.
The border between NSW and Victoria is on the southern bank of the Murray River, which flows essentially east west. However for section of about 80 kms of it’s 2,600km (1,600 miles) it flows north south. And being pretty flat out there the river meanders like a double jointed snake and one bend occurs below the hamlet of Barmah (in the lower LH corner of map). Conseqently Barmah correctly claims to be “The only Victorian town north of the Murray”.
And a district of the Borough of Manhattan named Marble Hill has been physically on the mainland ever since the Harlem River was rerouted about a hundred years ago.
Well, they paved part of it (through El Paso).
http://austin.episd.org/quadchamizal1.htm
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/CC/ggc1.html
Part of the Norwegian border to Finland and Russia is defined by rivers so when the river change course the borders change.
The good people of Kaskaskia, Illinois tried in vain to reverse the old bar bet by swearing to be honest every day. Alas, it didn’t work. A few Kaskaskians continued to lie, and, of course Kaskaskia is west of the river. Some of the liars claimed it was a professional requirement. That may have been true, but how can you be sure? :dubious: Anywise, the bet still works.
All of Illinois is east of the Mississippi. But some parts are a lot further east than others.