With the onset of the 19th century, the development of the area moved quickly, beginning with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the completion of Fort Dearborn near the mouth of the Chicago River in 1804. These events, along with the booming fur trade, increased traffic through the Portage. In 1812, Illinois was made a separate territory with its northern border in line with the southern edge of Lake Michigan. The area of Riverside at this time was locate in the Wisconsin Territory. In 1816, after President Madison recommended building a canal from the Chicago River to the Illinois River, the Indians ceded land ten miles north and south of the Chicago River to build a canal and road to accommodate traffic through the Portage. Riverside is located in that strip of land. (The actual construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, as it was called, did not begin, however, until the summer of 1836) And, in 1818, Illinois became a state of the union.