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Lock 14 – the I&M Canal Terminus

An economic crossroads
LaSalle, the I&M Canal terminus, was a major transfer point where the man-made canal system met the Illinois and Mississippi River system. Here, workers unloaded riverboats and filled canal boats bound for Chicago and points east with oranges, sugar, and molasses from the south and buffalo robes from the west. Hundreds of boats arrived from Chicago bringing lumber, clothing, furniture, stoves, plows and wagons. Some of these goods stayed in LaSalle, and many were loaded onto riverboats going to St. Louis, and New Orleans. Until 1852, thousands of passengers made the 20-25 hour trip between Chicago and Lasalle. More about the canal.

Railroads replace the canal for passenger travel
LaSalle was planned not only as the terminus of the I&M Canal, but as its meeting point with the railroad. In 1853, the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad arrived in LaSalle, paralleling the canal route. It marked yet another transportation revolution – Chicago passengers could reach LaSalle in just a few hours. The packet boat trade ended, while the canal endured as a means of shipping bulky goods like lumber, coal, stone and grain.

Future plans for Lock 14
Lock 14 is the only lock on the canal where wooden gates have been restored. The lock was once part of a much larger complex, including a large canal boat basin between locks 14 and 15, a mile-long steamboat basin between lock 15 and the Illinois River, two grain elevators, a huge mule barn, a locktenders’ house and other facilities. The Canal Corridor Association is working with the City of LaSalle and others to create the I&M Canal Corridor’s only canal-boat ride attraction at Lock 14.