<P> Several Native American tribes inhabited the region since at least 1000 BC, after the end of the Wisconsin glaciation . The peoples of the Great Lakes traded with the Hopewell culture from around 1000 AD, as copper nuggets have been extracted from the region, and fashioned into ornaments and weapons in the mounds of Southern Ohio . The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René - Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was built at Cayuga Creek, near the southern end of the Niagara River, and became the first known sailing ship to travel the upper Great Lakes on August 7, 1679 . </P> <P> The Rush--Bagot Treaty signed in 1818, after the War of 1812 and the later Treaty of Washington eventually led to a complete disarmament of naval vessels in the Great Lakes . Nonetheless, both nations maintain coast guard vessels in the Great Lakes . </P> <P> During settlement, the Great Lakes and its rivers were the only practical means of moving people and freight . Barges from middle North America were able to reach the Atlantic Ocean from the Great Lakes when the Welland canal opened in 1824 and the later Erie Canal opened in 1825 . By 1848, with the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal at Chicago, direct access to the Mississippi River was possible from the lakes . With these two canals an all - inland water route was provided between New York City and New Orleans . </P> <P> The main business of many of the passenger lines in the 19th century was transporting immigrants . Many of the larger cities owe their existence to their position on the lakes as a freight destination as well as for being a magnet for immigrants . After railroads and surface roads developed, the freight and passenger businesses dwindled and, except for ferries and a few foreign cruise ships, has now vanished . The immigration routes still have an effect today . Immigrants often formed their own communities and some areas have a pronounced ethnicity, such as Dutch, German, Polish, Finnish, and many others . Since many immigrants settled for a time in New England before moving westward, many areas on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes also have a New England feel, especially in home styles and accent . </P>

Great lakes of usa from east to west