In November 1679, on the Miami River, as the St. Joseph was then called, the French explorer La Salle built a fort as a base for his western explorations. There he awaited the Griffin, the upper lakes' first ship. When the ill-fated vessel did not come, he made his way on foot to Canada through lower Michigan's uncharted wilderness. He returned in 1681 to prepare his great push down the Mississippi. A decade later, the French built Fort St. Joseph, some 20 miles upriver near Niles.