The two giants in the promotion of alternating current and hydroelectric power in the late 1800’s were George Westinghouse from Pennsylvania and Nikola Tesla from Croatia.  Originally working separately, they joined forces in the 1880’s.  Tesla possessed deep insight and held many patents;  Westinghouse had engineering resources and know-how.
     They both promoted alternating current and its advantages.  It could be produced cheaply and could be transmitted over long distances.  They were challenged by Thomas Edison.  He promoted the advantages of direct current.  He believed that alternating current was not safe.
     In 1893, Westinghouse and Tesla developed an a-c power plant for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  This provided power to the 172,000 incandescent lamps at the fair.  This was a dramatic demonstration of the utility of a-c.
     Telluride, Colorado was a mountain mining town.  It’s products included gold, silver,lead, zinc, and copper.  The mines required power for operation of its machinery.  Lucien Nunn was a local entrepreneur who had an interest in the Gold King Mine and held water rights in the San Miguel River 2.6 miles from the mine.  He approached Westinghouse with a proposal to build hydroelectric plant on the river.  Westinghouse built two 100 hp generators for the project.  This was a huge success.  Nunn then formed the Telluride Power Company to build power plants for other towns and mines.
     The crown-jewel of the Westinghouse–Tesla collaboration was the Niagra Falls hydroelectric plant.  It went on line in1895.  It had a total of 10 a-c generators of five thousand h.p.  This supplied electrical power to significant portions of New York State.
     It would seem only logical that when the Marseilles Hydroelectric Plant on the Illinois River was proposed that Westinghouse and Tesla would be consulted.  (Recall that this plant was proposed to supply power for the interurban electric line).  The Westinghouse–Tesla supplied much technical support and equipment for a successful project.

Rock Island Depot. LaSalle

     The Rock Island Railroad ran from Rock, Island, Illinois to Chicago.  Early in its history it’s eastern terminus was LaSalle.  However, it eventually extended to Chicago.  Along much of its route, it parallelled the I and M Canal.   This put it into direct competition with the canal.   This eventually resulted with the demise of passenger service on the waterway.  For years the railroad and the canal competed for freight service.
     There is a remaining Rock Island Passenger Depot on First street east of Creve Coeur in LaSalle.  This structure was a replacement of an older station.  It was built in the 1900’s.
     This station measures 60 X 25 feet.  It is two and one half stories.   It has a concrete foundation.  It’s walls are red brick and dolomite limestone.  The depot was in use until the 1970’s when passenger service ended.
   For years, after it closed it was used as a lawnmower repair business.  This recently closed.  The building was purchased by a former LaSalle resident.  The plans for the structure are in  state of flux.

East from William Boyce Memorial Drive

East from William Boyce Memorial Drive

East from William Boyce Memorial Drive

       I hiked for a short distance East of the William Boyce Memorial Drive.  The canal is obscured by trees and bushes.  A small amount of water is seen in the canal.

Lock 11 I and M Canal

Lock 11 I and M Canal

Lock 11. I and M Canal

Lock 11 I and M Canal

Lock 11 of the I and M Canal can be accessed from William Boyce Memorial Drive in Ottawa, Illinois. Proceeding west along the canal path, a railroad line is visualized. A spur from this line extends out to the U.S. Silica Plant. The plant is seen in the distance.
The original lock had a limestone wall. Hydraulic cement was used as mortar. The walls of the lock now have been substantially rebuilt with cement. Remnants of the original limestone wall are seen. There is water in the lock chamber. No lock gates are currently present.

     Silica and sand mining started in the the Ottawa, Illinois region in the 1860’s.  This region had large deposits of Saint Peter sandstone–probably the finest sands in the United States. 
The mining industry grew.  Along with that, glass manufacturing flourished.
     The Ottawa facility was acquired by U.S. Silica in 1987.  The plant produces 2.2 million tons of silica yearly.  This sand is used in a variety of applications including glass production, foundry sand, abrasives, polishes, paint, filtration and frac sand and cement testing sands.

U.S. Silica Plant. Ottawa, Illinois.

One of the more distinctive structures in Washington Park of Ottawa, Illinois is the Reddick Mansion which is located on the corner of Columbus and Lafayette Streets.  It was constructed between 1856-1858.  It was designed by William Olmstead and Peter Nicholson.  It is an Italianate style mansion measuring 50 feet in height.  It has 22 rooms.  It stands out for the use of polygonal bays, ground level basement, Lemont limestone and red brick external walls.

The house was commissioned by William Reddick. Mr. Reddick was born in Ballynahinch, County Downs, Ireland on 10/31/1812.    His parents were James and Bessie.    He received his early education in non demoninational schools in Ireland.  His family migrated to the the United States in 1816 first to the New Jersey area.   His father died in 1821.
The family went to Zainesville, Ohio and Wheeling and Wellsburg ,Virginia in 1825. He learned the art of glass blowing. He met and his wife Eliza Jane Collins (from Brownsville, Pennsylvania)in the early 1830’s.   Their marriage was in 1833.  They both went to Washington, D.C. in 1832. For two years, he continued to practice the art of glass blowing.  He was able to save $1000.
In 1835, he and his wife moved to the Ottawa, Illinois (Bruce Township) region. He was elected sheriff of LaSalle County in 1838, a position he held to 1846. He and his family moved to Ottawa.   He was an Illinois State Senator from 1847 to 1851 and again in 1870. He had a family of one daughter and 5 sons. He was a successful businessman and had large land holdings. His wife died in 1883. He died in 1885.

William Reddick

Reddick Grave site

 
The mansion was willed to the city of Ottawa. Upon the death of Mr. Reddick, the building was used as Ottawa’s first public library according to the terms of the will. It served in that capacity from 1888–1975.  The Reddick Mansion Association was formed in 1975 to preserve, restore, and maintain this building.

   This park was created by the Illinois Michigan Canal Commission in 1831.  It occupies one block on the edge of downtown Ottawa, Illinois. 
     The park is probably best known as the site of the first Lincoln Douglas Debate in 1858.  The actual debate site is marked by a large boulder with a commemorative plaque.  This was dedicated in 1908.  At the actual debate, there were over 10,000 people present.

Commemorative Boulder Lincoln Douglas Debate

    In the center of the park is a fountain and a reflecting pool with bronze statues of Lincoln and Douglas.  The statues were were created by Rebecca Childers Caleel under the guidance of the city’s historic preservation commission.  The statue of Lincoln is 11 feet; Douglas is 9 feet. They were dedicated in September, 2002.

Lincoln Douglas Fountain in Washington Park

     The park also contains an 1875 Civil War Memorial and canons from the Civil War, World Wars 1 and 2.
     In 1978, Washington Park and the surrounding area were designated a historical district by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

     On the corner of Columbus and Jefferson Streets in Ottawa, Illinois, there is a distinctive building made of red brick and Joliet Limestone.  The architectural style is Classical Revival.  This structure currently serves as the 3rd District Illinois Appellate Court.    The central portion of the building was constructed between 1857–1860 at a cost of $230,000.  The wings of the structure were added in 1877.  
     For years, the building served as one of the three Illinois Supreme Courts.   The other two were located in Springfield and Mount Vernon.  In 1897, the state consolidated the three courts into one located in Springfield.    Since that time this building served as the 3rd District Illinois Appellate Court.

3rd District Illinois Apellate Court

    There is a Portland cement manufacturing site south of the I and M Canal and near the Little Vermillion River.  It  has been in operation since 1897. It is one of the longest running cement operations in the United States.
     In the late 19th century, Portland Cementfabrik Hemmor of Germany was considering marketing their cement products to the United States. Their directors believed that the U.S was a growing market with upside potential. Rather than exporting their products, they felt it would be more economical to build a plant in America. Their directors evaluated several sites. They decided that LaSalle, Illinois was the best site.
     There were many reasons for this decision. There were large limestone reserves. There were large local coal deposits. The coal was needed to fire the kilns in the manufacture process. Finally, the Rock Island and the Illinois Central Railroads provided access to Chicago and other Midwestern markets.

Hemmor built their plant in the late 1890’s. It was named the German American Portland Cement Works. It’s product was marketed under the name of Owl Cement.

In 1917, after the involvement of the U.S. in World War 1, the plant was seized by U.S. Alien Property Custodian. Production continued. The product was marketed under the name of the LaSalle Portland Cement Company.
 
In 1919, it was purchased by a syndicate and in 1920 they sold it to Alpha Portland Cement Company of Philadelphia.  Alpha ran the plant for 50 years.  They maintained a workforce of 160 employees.  On July 2, 1970, Alpha announced their plan to close the plant.  The closing process was completed in November of this year.

In 1971, All American Industries Delaware expressed an interest in the old Alpha site.
They felt they could perform all types of recycling there. Examples include metal recycling; fish farms in the old silos; mushroom growth on compost piles; filling quarries with solid wastes for commercial and residential development. Unfortunately, they were unable to obtain financing and the project never materialized.

Illinois Cement

     In April 1972,   a  group venture between Centex and the Pritzger family of Chicago purchased the Alpha Plant. The transaction included 1) the 340 acre mill site and quarry; 2) 1,000 acre limestone reserves in LaSalle and Dominick Townships. A new plant was built in 1973–74. This included a new state of the art dry process system. The raw materials enter the kiln in a dry powdered form through a 200 foot pre-heat tower.

This new technique is more energy efficient and more environmentally friendly. The new plant opened and the first cement product was shipped under the name Illinois Cement. The main facility was on a 660 acre site with a new quarry 5 miles away. This quarry site has enough reserves of limestone and other raw materials to last 35 years. The plant has the capacity to produce 900,000 tons of finished cement each year.

There is a separate storage capacity terminal in Wisconsin. It is named the Wisconsin Cement Company. It’s capacity is 1,135 tons. Cement Product is shipped from this location to the Milwaukee area.

Illinois Cement plays an important role in the LaSalle area economy. It is estimated to provide employment to 134 individuals. Indirectly it provides employment to 313 individuals. The company provides 2.5 millions dollars in tax revenue yearly.