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Thank
you!
You helped raise over $25,500! Watch for 2008 I&M Canal
Walk/Ride details!
 Visit
the Gaylord Building National Trust Historic Site
 Discover
the back roads, canal towns, trails, parks, and historic sites
from Lemont to LaSalle
Featured Article |
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At
a stroke,
the opening of the
Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 gave Illinois the key to mastery of
the American mid-continent. The dream of the canal had animated every
vision and under laid every plan for Illinois for 200 years before. As
that vision was realized, the canal’s commissioners laid out a canal
port that would grow into a great metropolis; their fellow citizens
patented
agriculture and industrial innovations that would |
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make this the richest economic zone the world had ever seen. That Illinois is now the most populous inland American state, and Chicago
the greatest city of the American heartland, are directly traceable to the
96-mile ditch that linked the Great Lakes to the Illinois and Mississippi
rivers. The Illinois and Michigan Canal is one of the best-kept secrets of
American history. Though few know today how important it was, everyone
here knew it a century and a half ago. We cannot know Illinois’ history
without understanding how the Canal, as a symbol of the
continent-straddling ambitions of America, made it possible for a great
civilization to arise here.
After years of economic decline, the newly revitalized Canal Corridor is
now becoming a splendid living history museum of American enterprise,
technological invention, ethnic diversity, and cultural creativity - a
terrific visitor destination for recreation and heritage tourism. The
Canal Corridor Association aims to helps Illinoisans and their guests
understand that they too are parts of an exciting historical tradition. |
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Upcoming Events
May 8,
(Thursday )
Dinner & a Lecture –
Packet
Boats on the I&M Canal
May 12,
(Monday )
Family Roots & Branches –
Oral
History Interviews
June 12,
(Thursday )
Dinner & a Lecture – TBA
July 10,
(Thursday )
Dinner & a Lecture –
Emerging Initiatives in Preservation
Watch for more information on the
LaSalle Canal Boat & Lock 16
Visitor Center!
Directions
Exit Route 80 West at mile marker #77 (Rt. 351)
South on Rt. 351 to First Street
Building is located at 754 First St. (southwest
corner of Rt. 351 and First St.)
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For a detailed
calendar of events click here |
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