The I & M
(Illinois & Michigan) Canal was dug by hand between 1836 to 1848. Thousands of canal workers from Ireland and
other countries used basic tools, such as, wheelbarrows, shovels, and wooden
scoops to create this canal. They were paid a dollar a day to
work 12 hour days under horrible living conditions and while struggling through with many
diseases. The canal was proclaimed a
symbol of America’s westward expansion when it opened in 1848.
The canal
was 60’ wide, 6’ deep, and extended 96 miles from the Chicago River in Chicago
to the Illinois River in LaSalle, Illinois. Paths were constructed along each
edge to permit mules to be harnessed to tow barges along the canal. It had
15 locks to navigate the 141’ elevation change from Chicago to the Illinois
River, feeder canals to provide water, and four aqueducts to carry the canal
across creeks and rivers.
Completion
of this canal allowed the trading of goods to be transported by the ton, not by
the wagon load between New England, New York, New Orleans, and in-between. The cost of moving goods were drastically
reduced as were shipping times. European immigrants flocked to this area and
began settling. Chicago’s population
grew from 4,000 to 20,000 during the 12 years it took to build the canal. Upon completion, from 1848 – 1860, Chicago’s
population quintupled to 112,172.
The I &
M Canal ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois
Waterway in 1933. Portions of the canal
have been filled in. A majority of it
has been preserved as part of the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage
Corridor with biking and walking trails alongside the canal on the mule
towpaths.
(Stock photos to show how the mules would pull the barges along the canal.) Travel was approximately 4 mph by mule tow.
Rail Splitter, replica of an I & M Canal Barge
Toll Collector's Office on left.
The
only I&M Canal toll house in existence, The Ottawa Office offers a unique
glimpse of what life was like in the 1800’s. As only one of four stops for the
collection of tolls, these houses once stood in LaSalle, Lockport and Chicago
with the LaSalle office closing in 1876.
It is
believed from records of payments and other data that Albert F. Dow, the first
toll collector in Ottawa, built the toll house in 1849, most likely building it
during his first year as collector. The canal commissioners paid him rent for
the building besides his salary. Rent payments to him stopped when Albert was
promoted to Collector at Chicago in 1871.
Fox River Aqueduct
Garmin does the Fox River Aqueduct.
Yesterday and today's transportation, a lovely Chevrolet Suburban. Thank you Heritage Harbor Marina!
