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Industrial past
In 1832 the first saw mill was established at the Illinois River rapids at the location of Marseilles, and three years later entrepreneur Lovel Kimbal platted the town. He named the town after the great French manufacturing city because he believed that the combination of waterpower provided by Illinois River Rapids and plans for the I&M Canal made it an ideal industrial location. In 1837, economic depression swept the nation, and from 1841 to 1844 work on the I&M Canal largely ceased. Marseilles’s industrial growth ground to a halt. Kimball died in 1848, unable to enjoy the city’s industrial growth that followed the I&M Canal’s opening the same year.

Today, the I&M Canal is dry in Marseilles, but you can still see its outline and the massive mill buildings that were fueled by the river rapids. Among them was the box-making plant for Nabisco, which was at the heart of Marseilles’ paper-making industry. In 1933, The Illinois Waterway Dam was constructed over the river rapids, using two diversion dams to fuel industries and a hydroelectric plant.

Camping and enjoying the outdoors
Marseilles, with its beautiful bluffs and ravines, is a major camping destination. Across the Illinois River from Marseilles, Illini State Park offers camping, picnic facilities, hiking trails, a boat launch, and views of the Illinois River rapids and the Marseilles Lock and Dam.

Learn more
To learn more about Marseilles, visit the Chamber of Commerce located in the restored railroad caboose on Washington Street, east of Main.