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Canal Pioneers Commemorated
Illinois Street was once the heart of canal commerce in Morris. In the 1990s, the Morris Riverfront Commission constructed Canalport Plaza as the first part of a canal and riverfront park. Stop at the plaza to access the I&M Canal trail, and to view the steel silhouettes of the Armstrong family, pioneers who helped to found Morris and build the canal.

In 1831 Elsie Armstrong, along with her sons, aged 3 to 19, arrived on the Illinois frontier, drawn by the promise of a new life away from her drunken husband in Ohio. Plans were underway to construct the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Her sons soon helped build it. Three became founders of Morris - Armstrong Street bears their name. Elsie is buried nearby in Evergreen Cemetery. Armstrong descendents still live in the canal corridor and have preserved the stories of Elsie Armstrong and her family.