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A Vibrant Community
Downtown still thrives as the seat of one of Illinois’ mostfertile agricultural counties. Huge grain elevators visible over the treetops along the Illinois River are a reminder that corn is still a vital part of Morris’ economy today.

Look for signs to the visitor center, admire the architecture, shop or dine downtown, or take a walk along the canal trail. Stop at Canalport Plaza on Illinois Avenue at the south end of Liberty Street to view the sculptural steel silhouettes of canal pioneers Elsie Armstrong and her sons, and gain access to the I&M Canal Trail.

Street parking is available downtown, and there is a lot adjacent to the canal on Illinois Avenue west of Canalport Plaza.

Canal Commerce
Morris was laid out by the commissioners of Grundy County in 1841. Lumberyards, blacksmith shops, liveries and towering grain elevators once lined the north bank of the canal. Shops, saloons, hotels and boarding houses were clustered on Washington Street, just half a block from the canal that brought their supplies, merchandise and customers.

Courthouse Square
The Grundy County Courthouse Square is the heart of downtown Morris. Note the upper stories of Morris’ commercial buildings clustered around the square, many of which retain their ornate 19th century cornices. Morris is fortunate that its historic commercial core still thrives, when so many downtowns have lost business to nearby malls and strip development.

The current courthouse, constructed in 1912-13, stands on the same site where the first two-story wood courthouse was built in 1842. On the grounds are a number of war memorials, and a 20-foot-high cedar pole, which, according to legend, originally marked the burial mound of Chief Nucquette. Nineteen burial mounds dating from the Mississippian Period (900-1500 A.D.) lined the river in Morris and were destroyed for canal construction. The ceremonial pole was saved and installed in the courthouse square in 1925.

Local industries cluster in Morris
By 1853, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad arrived in Morris along north LibertyStreet. The combined advantages of excellent water and rail transportation and close proximity to coal mines attracted factories to the city. At the west end of Illinois Street is the surviving remnant of the once-large complex known as the Coleman Hardware Company. Three hundred workers produced pulleys, locks, hinges and other hardware as well as iron toys. Workers unloaded raw materials from canal boats at the factory’s extensive docks. Later, a railroad spur connected the factory to the Rock Island Railroad line.

Just north of the Coleman complex on Washington Street stands the Gebhard Brewery, founded in 1866 by German immigrant Louis Gebhard. The surviving buildings include the brick bottling plant, constructed in 1888 and the larger brew house, built in 1896. Canal boat captains delivered barley, hops and other ingredients. In 1873, according to one report, the brewery used almost one third of the corn produced in Grundy County. Citizens of Morris and the county consumed most of the beer produced here – as much as 250 barrels a day by 1916, although some was shipped elsewhere. With the coming of prohibition in 1919, the brewery closed and the brew house was converted to a flour mill.

Liberty Street Station
After the railroad arrived in 1853, passengers stopped using the the I&M Canal, opting for faster and more efficient trains. The Rock Island Railroad Depot, built in 1907 at Liberty and Division Streets, and recently rehabilitated to house the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce, served thousands of passengers traveling to Chicago and elsewhere. Stop in for visitor information. The grain elevator across from the depot was built in 1913 on the site of two previous elevators.
In the days before automobiles, Morris was also served by the Interurban railroad, which provided a streetcar line within Morris, and connected Morris to other towns as far away as Chicago and Aurora. The original station still stands at the corner of Benton and Liberty Streets and is in use as a commercial building.