Fun with Maps ISSUE 2025-065

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (April 9, 2025) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps, we follow this French explorer’s travels down the Mississippi arriving at the sea today!

Cavelier or La Salle

It’s about the French and Louisiana.

Rene-Robert Cavelier was a French explorer and fur trader.   He explored the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi.  He canoed down the mighty river to its mouth at what was then called the Gulf of Mexico.  He reached the sea on April 9, 1682.

He, of course, claimed all of the Mississippi basin for France, naming it Louisiana, after the Sun King, Louis XIV.

He purchased the title Sieur de La Salle in his 20s, which refers to an area near his birth.   The custom of purchasing titles was relatively common in his days.  Subsequently, he is often referred to as Rober La Salle. 

France greatly benefited from La Salle’s explorations and the land gained.  They subsequently sold the territory to the US in 1803.

Gray’s map of Louisiana and New Orleans is presented here from 1880.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.