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Nice example of the first edition of this remarkable 8 sheet map of the Mississippi River, from the area near St. Louis in the north to the mouth of the River in Louisiana, published by the Mississippi River Commission in St. Louis in 1888.
The present map is one of a group of maps published by the Mississippi Commission in the first decade after its formation. This map would be regularly updated for many decades to come.
By the second half of the nineteenth century, the great need for navigation improvements and flood control on the Mississippi River was clear. Following several decades of political, engineering, and regional dischord, Congress finally embraced the need for a single authority to oversize river improvements on the Mississippi River. On June 28, 1879 , the federal legislature established the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) as an executive body reporting directly to the Secretary of War.
The original legislation granted the MRC extensive jurisdiction on the Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca , Minnesota, southward to just short of its terminus in the Gulf of Mexico. The act also empowered the MRC to make surveys and investigations necessary to prepare plans to improve the river channel, protect the banks, improve navigation, prevent destructive floods, and promote commerce. The legally mandated membership of the MRC called for three officers from the U.S. Corps of Engineers, one member from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and three civilians-all nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
The act creating the MRC also authorized the Secretary of War to detail officers, men, vessels, and instruments from both the Corps of Engineers and the Coast and Geodetic Survey to the MRC to enable the Commission to carry out its mission. The first meeting of the MRC was held in Washington , D.C. , on August 19, 1879 , and headquarters were established in St. Louis , Missouri.
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