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Canal Corridor Association is a membership organization that preserves history, protects nature and open space, and creates destinations where people can learn and have fun in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, from Lake Michigan in Chicago to the Illinois River in LaSalle/Peru. It enhances, raises awareness of and expands the parks, trails, landscape and historic sites that make the I&M Canal region a special place. CCA manages the Gaylord Building, a National Trust Historic Site, in Lockport, Illinois. One of the oldest industrial buildings in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, the Gaylord Building is a model of adaptive reuse, featuring the Public Landing restaurant, canal exhibits and more.

CCA President's Note

Ana B. Koval

President & CEO

Canal Fact

In 1830 the I&M Canal Commissioners laid out the town of Chicago for the sole purpose of being a canal port.  They platted Ottawa the same year.

History of Carbon Hill

Carbon Hill's story is typical of a boom town in the early coal mining years of Illinois. While coal mines were sunk and homes moved into the area as early as 1874, official documentation shows that the village was surveyed and platted by the Star Coal Co. of Streator, Illinois, in June of 1891, and the village was officially organized on January 25, 1892. The village is located in Felix Township, Grundy County, Illinois.  The population in 1892 was approximately 1800 and included Scottish and English mine bosses, railroad workers, and a coal mining population of immigrants: Italian, Slovenian, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish, living in “neighborhoods” with names such as Bunker Hill, Scotch Hill, and Oklahoma. The local school opened in 1893 on Second Street with 378 students enrolled on the first day.

By 1900, the tax roles showed 42 blocks of developed properties including a slaughter house and butcher shop, mercantile stores, livery stables, grocery stores, an athletic club, various saloons, hotels, an opera house, a church, a post office, organizational halls, and the Coal Company Store. Wooden sidewalks and gas street lights made for a typical turn of the century scene. Originally there was bandstand in the village park at the center of town; a popular place for band concerts, with a maple hardwood dance floor. The bandstand’s location in the park has now become 2nd base of the ball diamond. Music and sports were both organized activities in Carbon Hill, and soccer and softball stories abound to this day. The current ball games, picnics, and events keep the park a mainstay of the village.

Four mine shafts kept the community thriving for twenty years. The last operating mine, the #5 of the Big Four Wilmington Coal Co., was destroyed by a cyclone on April 21, 1912. When the cyclone demolished the tipple and the cage of the mine, the remaining few miners were out of jobs. Then in the following year a disastrous fire burned most of the businesses at the east end of the town. With these back to back events, the population decline began.  Many of our original families moved on to Joliet to work in the steel mills, or over to LaSalle County mines or other central and southern Illinois mines.  Two wars and the changing work scene found only 136 people living in Carbon Hill by 1945. The remaining businesses were two little saloons and a grocery store.

In 1949 the newly elected mayor and his board began planning for a Carbon Hill Homecoming as a way to reunite the village families and their descendants and bring enough revenue into town to remain independent. Expanded for the general public in 1950, the festivities continue through the present time.  It has been reported that in its heyday over 40,000 people attended this annual event.

In 1999 the slag dump of the #5 mine, the prominent “Carbon Hill” at the west end of the village, was brought down as part of Governor Ryan’s reclamation project. Today's population is approximately 400, and several homeowners have second, third, fourth, or fifth generation roots in the village.

CARBON HILL SCHOOL MUSEUM

Located at 875 Second Street in Carbon Hill, Grundy County, IL the Carbon Hill School Museum is open every Monday from 12 pm until 4 pm for visitors, guests, researchers, interviews, and guided tours. The museum also opens by appointment for interested individuals, families or groups. Special topic programs are held regularly throughout the year.

The original 1893 schoolhouse displays hundreds of original artifacts depicting immigrant turn-of-the-century life of families, businesses, and coal mines. Three rooms are filled with photographs, artifacts, coal mining books and tools, local memorabilia, kitchen, bedroom and store displays from "the old days", plus a diorama of Carbon Hill in its mining heyday, circa 1900. Early family albums and genealogy records are out for perusal, along with old soccer and baseball memorabilia. For a touch of more recent history, you may find yourself in the Carbon Hill Homecoming photos, 1949-present year. 

Please phone Michele Micetich, 815- 634-4213 or email micetich@comcast.net for more information on programs and appointments.  (On July 11, 2007, Michele will be presenting "Get a Clue about Local History" at the Coal City Public Library, 6:30 pm.)

Summer Dinner Promenade

Come enjoy a summer evening at the first annual Summer Dinner Promenade on Wednesday, July 18, 2007.  The event is a “progressive dinner” with food, beverages, and entertainment at Lockport, Illinois’ four cultural attractions: the Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery, the Lockport Township Park District’s Gladys Fox Museum, the Will County Historical Society, and the Gaylord Building Historic Site.  Guest will start at one location and progress to each site.  Festivities begin at 6:30 pm, and transportation will be available for those in need.  Admission is $40 per adult with registration required through the Lockport Township Park District.  For additional information and registration call 815.838.1183 and touch #1 for registration.  RSVP by July 16th.

Next Acts of History - Sunday, July 8, 2007

A Tribute to Will Rogers

A great American commentator once said, “Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.”  Well, look no further and stop by the Gaylord Building Historic Site to enjoy the humor of that great American – Will Rogers.  A Tribute to Will Rogers is a journey into the roots of the American experience.  This highly entertaining portrait of a gentle American honors Will Rogers in words, theater and song.  As Will declared, “We all here for a spell; get all the good laughs you can!”  Come get those laughs on Sunday, July 8, 2007, beginning at 1:30 pm. 

The wit and wisdom of Will Rogers is brought to life by author and performer Lance Brown, who is officially endorsed by the Will Rogers Memorial Commission of Oklahoma.  After years of study and performing, Lance Brown has at his command a fascinating collection of Will Rogers' newspaper articles, radio monologues and off-the-cuff comments that still ring true today.  Moving effortlessly from first-person portrayals of Will Rogers to spirited third-person accounts of Will's life and times, Lance creates a bridge back to the 1920s and 1930s for audience members of all ages.  Will Rogers, Jr. stated of Brown, "Your one-man show on my father, Will Rogers, was excellent. You not only portrayed my father and his humor, but you pictured the background of the country at the time so the remarks had bite. It was an audience holding experience."

A Tribute to Will Rogers will be held at the Gaylord Building, 200 W. 8^th Street, Lockport, Illinois.  Admission is $6 for members of the Canal Corridor Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and $8 for non-members.  Seating is limited, so reservations are requested.  Call today for additional information and reservations, please call 815.588.1100. 

Odd Bedfellows on the I&M Canal:

Dinner & A Lecture Summer Series starts on Thursday July 12th

What does an engineer, a priest, and an Irishman have in common?  They are Odd Bedfellows on the I & M Canal, a special presentation at the Gaylord Building Historic Site on Thursday, July 12, 2007, that will explore the lives and relationships of the men who built the Illinois and Michigan Canal, as well as the challenges that they faced and the successes they achieved between 1836 and 1848.  The engineer, priest and Irishman are, respectively, William McCandless, Jack Roach and Maurice Held – members of Canallers in the Corridor, a corps of living history interpreters dedicated to enlightening the world about the importance of the I & M Canal and brining to life the men and women who built, worked, lived and died on the canal.  July guests choose from a menu of Pacific Rim Shrimp Brochette (marinated, char-grilled, twin-skewers of shrimp, pineapple, tomatoes, onions and peppers) with wild rice blend; or Grilled Pork Chops with a mushroom demi glaze, garlic mashed potatoes and vegetable.  Chocolate Cake al a mode will be served for dessert.

Upcoming:

On Thursday, August 9, 2007, Jenny McBride of the Morton Arboretum will give the first public presentation of a unique study of the botany of northern Illinois in Corridor Vegetation of the Pre-Settlement Period. 

On September 9, 2007Join Dr. Donald Maier, Asst. Prof. of Business, University of St. Francis  for Waterway Logistics of the Corridor, a historical perspective of the economic impact of the I&M canal and the role it played and will continue to play in this growing global economy.

Each program is part of the Dinner & A Lecture education series, which is held monthly at the Gaylord Building, 200 W. 8^th Street, Lockport, Illinois.  The events are catered by the Public Landing Restaurant.  Festivities begin at 6:00 pm with a cash-bar reception followed by dinner at 6:45 pm, and the lecture at 7:45 pm.  The program fee, which includes dinner, is $27 for members of the Canal Corridor Association and National Trust for Historic Preservation, or $33 for non-members. Discounts are available for all three summer sessions.  Please call CCA today at 815.588.1100 for additional information.  Reservations are required.

Lockport Sleepers Vintage Base Ball Update

The Lockport Sleepers are undefeated on their home field, . . . or at least they hope to be after their home opener on Saturday, July 7, 2007, at 2:00 pm.  After a month on the road, the Lockport Sleepers will host the Elk Grove Village Bucks at the Sleepers’ first home game of the season.

The Sleepers spent the month of June “on the road” with mixed results.  They kicked off the season with an 8 to 3 win over the Downers Grove Plowboys back on June 2^nd.   The Sleepers followed that the following weekend by skinning the Elk Grove Village Bucks 10 to 2.  The team continued to charge ahead with twin wins over the Portage (Indiana) Iron Diamonds in a doubleheader on June 16^th. 

Unfortunately, the freshmen Sleepers were stopped cold in the Plowboys’ Classic, a tournament on June 24^th in Downers Grove.  In three seven inning games, the Sleepers were shutdown by the more experienced Midway Village Marauders, Downers Grove Plowboys, and Creston Regulators.  The downward slide continued on July 1^st in Hobart, Indiana, against the Deep River Grinders, 17 year veterans of vintage base ball. 

The remaining home matches include Portage Iron Diamonds (July 15^th), Downers Grove Plowboys (August 11^th), Deep River Grinders (August 18^th), and the Somonauk Blue Stockings (August 26^th).  The Blue Stockings will host the Sleepers in Somonauk (July 29^th).

The Lockport Sleepers are pleased to be supported by the Canal Corridor Association (management entity of the Gaylord Building) and the Lockport Township Park District (owner of Sleepers Field in Dellwood Park).  The “club nine” has received the generous financial sponsorship of Beyer Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, Caneva Foot & Ankle Clinic Ltd., First Midwest Bank, Ms. Amiee Mosczynski, Helen & Roger Nyman, and Joseph W. Shaughnessy.  The team has also obtained equipment and supplies generously contributed by Lockport Steel Fabricators, Trader Joe’s, Michael & Monica Ciurej, Mark & Gina Harmon, Kimberly Jones, Erica Craycraft, and The Family of Anna Swanson.  Finally, the Sleepers will be supported at their home games by the Canallers in the Corridor and the Joliet Drama Guild.

Sleepers Field is located on the southside of Dellwood Park at Dell Park Avenue and Lois Avenue.   Admission to the match is free.  The public is encouraged to bring a chair or blanket to sit on and food and beverage to enjoy.  For more information about the Sleepers, please call 815.588.1100

Sleeper Definition: One that achieves unexpected recognition or success, such as a racehorse 

Upcoming Events

Here is a sampling of events happening in the corridor.  For a more complete listing of events, click here to visit the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitor Bureau's website.  Don't see your event listed here?  Please send it to enews@canalcor.org.