History on the I&M Canal

12 Things You Can Learn About Illinois History Along the I&M Canal

There are many intriguing places along the I&M Canal to visit, learn, and have fun.

By 1881, approximately 300 boats transported cargo above a million tons through the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Opened in 1848, the 96-mile connector between the Great Lakes and the Illinois and Mississippi rivers had become a vibrant economic starting point for Chicago's development within what is known today as the Heritage Corridor. There's a lot you can learn about Illinois history at various stops along the I&M Canal throughout the Heritage Corridor. Here are 12 of them:

1. I&M Canal was once the world's most prosperous economic zone. Now the most populous inland state, Illinois blossomed in the I&M Canal area, creating a hot and prosperous economic zone. But the canal officially closed in 1933 when the Illinois Waterway opened. Today, spurred by the Canal Corridor Association, the I&M National Heritage Corridor provides glimpses of early Chicago and Illinois development.

The Gaylord Building and Lincoln's Landing are great to visit any time of the year.

2. Lockport is one of the Midwest's best-preserved 19th-century canal towns. Historic Lockport incorporated in 1853. Headquarters for the I&M Canal, its name came from the canal's Lock No. 1. Today, canal right-of-way is called the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Corridor and the city remains one of the best-preserved Midwestern 19th-century canal towns. Listed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the limestone Gaylord Building originally stored canal construction materials. Related artifacts, documents and photographs fill local museums.

3. Joliet has ties to space, movie-making and high school bands. The Joliet area along the I&M Canal is rich in area history with many sites that have been reimagined and reworked to both honor and educate about the past but provide visitors today with something new to do.

The Joliet Iron Works Site, for example, was an iron manufacturing facility from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, and it?s now a preserve with a half-mile paved trail that provides information about the site's historical significance. The 10.81-mile crushed limestone and paved Centennial Trail/I&M Canal Trail invites biking, hiking or jogging skating, and even cross-country skiing.

Old Joliet Prison Park, in the shadows of the historic prison

With imposing stone walls and barbed wire, Old Joliet Prison is now a public park where information kiosks and photographs illustrate inmate history, architecture, a timeline and famous films shot here, including The Blues Brothers.

Also, the Joliet Area Historical Museum displays a two-story Lunar Lander Simulator exhibit that honors former resident Dr. John C. Houbolt who championed lunar orbit rendezvous. Another exhibit showcases 100 years of Joliet Township High School bands, which figured prominently in development of instrumental music education, nationwide.

4. Some park names reflect important Illinois history and figures. On the I&M Canal State Trail, Channahon State Park sits at the juncture of the DuPage, Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers. Its name, then, is quite fitting: Channahon is an Indian word meaning "the meeting of the waters." A state park since 1932, the area benefitted from restoration of Locks 6 and 7, and a lock-tender's house, after the I&M canal closed. William G Stratton State Park is another park with name significance-named for an Illinois governor. It provides access to the Illinois River for boating, fishing and water-skiing activities, with acreage in Morris and Grundy.

5. A public work relief program created this Gebhard Woods State Park. In 1934, the Grundy County Rod & Gun Club purchased property in Morris and Grundy from Mrs. William Gebhard for $1,500. Club members developed a game fish rearing pool and subsequently donated Gebhard Woods State Park to Illinois. The Department of Interior employed Brandon-Morris Civilian Conservation Corps members to create the new park.

6. An engineering wonder and Underground Railroad stop are in Ottawa. The Fox River Aqueduct was the largest of four built along the I&M Canal. Considered an engineering wonder, it now transports trail users across the river.

Ottawa's Washington Square hosted an historic Lincoln-Douglas debate in 1858.

Ottawa hosted Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. It was also an Underground Railroad stop with the John Hossack House as a station. Many Ottawa citizens were active in the abolitionist movement. Another interesting Ottawa fact: Resident William Dickson Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America.

7. French explorers visited this rock. Buffalo Rock State Park in Ottawa and LaSalle was once an island in the Illinois River. Now a favorite area for picnics and nature, it was home to the Illinois Indians when French explorer Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette traveled up the river in 1673. Warfare with aggressive Iroquois later virtually wiped out the tribe. Buffalo Rock was an early military, trading and missionary post too, where Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de LaSalle and Henri di Tonty gathered Indian warriors that would fight the Iroquois.

8. Sanatoriums and camp meetings operated here. Buffalo Rock later hosted camp meetings for a religious sect, and a sanatorium. Crane Company of Chicago used the property for a sanatorium and vacation grounds too, before donating the area to Illinois for use as a park in 1928. Today, Effigy Tumuli features ground sculpted as an enormous snake, turtle, catfish, frog and water strider shapes. The artist, Michael Heizer, honors Native American burial grounds.

9. The oldest remaining I&M Canal grain elevator is in Seneca. The M.J. Hogan Grain Elevator was constructed by John Armour in 1861-1862. It allowed local farmers to ship bulk grain to Chicago via the canal, rather than by horse and wagon.

10. Lemont was the largest Civil War recruiting station for Union troops. Established in 1840, Lemont means 'the mountain' in French. The largest recruiting station for Civil War Union troops, it is also one of the oldest communities in northeastern Illinois with an intact historic district used continuously since its inception. Limestone from local quarries later faced dozens of downtown buildings and the Chicago Water Tower.

Today, you can relive the journey down the I&M Canal with a Mule-pulled Boat Ride.

11. Mules pulled I&M Canal Boats from LaSalle. The 76-by-15-foot LaSalle Canal Boat docks about two hours from Chicago. It's a full-size replica of the 19th-century canal boats that once traveled along the I&M Canal-pulled by mules. Lock 16 Center's Cafe & Gift Shop provides visitor information and exhibits inside a previous horse buggy maker's building.

12. A Utica museum houses Lincoln's carriage to a Lincoln-Douglas Debate. LaSalle County Historical Museum features the Canal Warehouse that houses pre 19th-century ceremonial items and tools from Native Americans of the Illinois River Valley. It also is home to a carriage President Lincoln rode to the Lincoln-Douglas debate in Ottawa. Other artifacts include furnishings, clothing and tools from settlers who died in the Indian Creek Massacre. Its Heritage Center showcases 20th-century and military artifacts, a coal mine exhibit and displays about notable residents. Visit the 1865 Aitken One-Room School House, the 1892 Kidd Blacksmith Shop and the 1875 Barn, too.

History is alive and well in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor.