Downtown Utica

Stone and cement
Workers digging the I&M Canal discovered a large vein of limestone in the Utica area. The stone was ideal for making cement, which was used to construct the I&M Canal’s locks. Utica quickly grew up around the cement industry and in addition had clay mines, lumber yards and grain elevators. Today its limestone and sandstone are still mined for gravel and sand.

French and Native American legacy
St. Mary’s Church on Division Street in Utica descended from the Mission of the Immaculate Conception, founded in 1675 by Father Jacques Marquette at the Grand Village of the Illinois to the east of Utica. The relief sculpture memorial to the French explorer/missionary was erected outside the church in 1951.

Discover history
Visit the LaSalle County Historical Society’s museum along the I&M Canal. This sandstone building, originally known as the Clark Warehouse, was constructed in 1849 from stone quarried from James Clark’s cement company. From this building thousands of bushels of corn and oats were loaded onto canal barges for shipment. It also served as Utica’s first general store and post office.

Visit Utica’s shops and restaurants which continue the town’s tradition as a commercial and dining center for the surrounding area.