Rock Island Depot Utica, Illinois

     One of the Railroads that traversed LaSalle, Illinois was the Illinois Central.  This was originally chartered as a line to transverse Illinois  north to south from Chicago to Cairo.  Sadly most of the buildings associated with the IC  in LaSalle are no longer standing.  An exception is the Illinois Central Bridge that traverses the I and M Canal near the aqueduct over the Little Vermillion River.

The bridge was built in 1855.  The original contractor was Albert Story.  He had hired workers with a promise to pay them $1.25 per day.  Later, he reneged and changed the reimbursement to $1.00 per day.  The angered workers demonstrated and some were involved with murder of Mr. Story.  Despite these setbacks, the bridge was completed in 1855.
     The bridge was quite a spectacular engineering fete for this time period. 

There were 17 sandstone support piers. The super structure was made of iron and truss spans encased in wood. The span of the bridge was 2889 feet. The bridge crossed a half mile wetland, the I and M Canal, the Rock Island Railroad, and the Illinois River. The original bridge served the IC railroad for forty years.
The bridge was renovated in 1893. Deck truss spans sat on the original support piers.
In the 1930’s, after the Illinois Waterway Project, it was found that the low hanging steel on the deck truss spans was too low for boats. The main channel span was replaced by a truss span on new support piers. Subsequently, the rest of the support piers were raised. The IC abandoned the rail line that included the bridge. The last train to cross the bridge was December 21, 1985. The bridge was purchased by a concrete factory on the north side of the river.

     The following are more recent photos taken of the Norton Building in Lockport

     Located in LaSalle County off Dee Bennett Road near Utica is a historical site referred variously as the Zimmerman Site, Grand Village of the Kaskaskia, the Old Kaskaskia Village or 11LS13.       This was the home of the Kaskaskia Band of the Illinois Confederacy during most of the 17th century. 
     In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette arrived initially at this site.  Two years later, he returned to establish a Catholic mission.  Later this group of native Americans moved west from this site to the region of the Kaskaskia River.    What is even more interesting is that there is evidence of Indian settlements at this site dating to 800 a.d.  This site has been investigated by archeologists on several occasions.
     In the 1980’s, this site had been purchased by developers seeking to build vacation homes.
Preservationists  organized an effort to save this site.  Governor Jim Thompson sought to have the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to arrange for the land to come into public ownership.  This was accomplished in April of 1991.

     Located on Dee Bennett Road approximately .7 mile west of the Starved Rock Marina and .5 mile south of the Illinois Michigan Canal is a multi-story stone building known by various names.  These names are: Spring Valley House, the Half-way House, the Sulfur Springs Hotel or the Wayside Inn.  It was located midway on a stage coach route between Chicago and Saint Louis.

     The official history is that the hotel was built in 1852 by Joel Smith.  However, from observation of the building it is evident that it was built in stages.

     The walls were made of 30 inch sandstone.  The wood beams were
fastened with wood pegs.   On the ground floor, there was a bar and dining rooms; the next floor had a parlor and reception room; the next floor had 12 guest rooms each with its own fireplace; finally the top floor had a ballroom.
     There were natural springs in the area back of the house.  These had a high concentration of sulfur.  Many guest frequented the hotel for medicinal benefits of these springs. 

     Among the famous guests at this hotel were Abraham Lincoln, Jennifer Lind, and possibly Edward, Prince of Wales
     In 1862, the hotel was converted to a farm house.  Owners included: J. Neil, Henry Zimmerman, Maurice Keating, Lucille Keating, and the state of Illinois. 
     The area surrounding the hotel is also the site of Kaskasia.  This was an Illinois Indian Village from 1673–1700.  It is a National Historic Landmark.  This is also owned by the state of Illinois. 
   Both the hotel and the Kaskia sites are kept very private by the state.

  

  

The first depot in Ottawa was a wood frame building constructed in the 1850’s. It was in use until the 1880’s. A replacement one story depot was built in 1888. It was in use until the early 1900’s.
In 1910, a replacement depot was built at Marquette and Columbus Streets. It has a similar appearance to Rock Island facilities in Iowa City and Council Bluffs, Iowa. The depot is one story in height. It has a two story turret. It measures 60 X 25 feet. It’s exterior walls are brick. The lower one half is tan and red. The upper one half is tan. Originally, the baggage room was a separate building on the east side. In the 1950’s, the two buildings were joined. The sidewalks and platform are made of brick pavers.
Rail service was ended in the 1970’s. The building and tracks were obtained by CSX.
Modifications were made for conversion of the depot to offices.

     One of the smallest towns along the Illinois Michigan Canal was Utica.  The Rock Island Railroad ran through this town.  There was a train depot.  It was built in the mid 19th century.  It was located near Clark and Grove Streets.
     The building was one and one half stories tall.  It had a limestone foundation and brick walls.   It measured  50 X 18 feet.  In recent years, the building was abandoned.
     There was a severe tornado in Utica in 2004.  The depot was seriously damaged.  Subsequently, the building was demolished. 
 

        
            

     I recently was able to visit Marseilles, Il and take pictures of the Rock Island Rail Road Depot.
     The Rock Island Railroad was completed in the early 1850’s.  It  paralleled the Illinois Michigan Canal over much of its route.  It was responsible for the end of passenger service on the canal.  It provided intense competition for freight service along the Illinois Valley.
     The first Rock Island Depot in Marseilles was constructed in 1867.  This structure was small and constructed of wood.  This became a hub to transport passengers and freight along the rail line.  There was a 40 year court battle to replace the old building with a larger structure.
     Finally, a new depot was constructed in 1917.  This was designed and constructed T.S. Peak from Chicago.  The depot was rectangular in shape.  It measured 90 X 25  feet.  This facility was in operation until 1974.  It was sold to a private business in 1984.  This has been used as a dental office and a family practice office.   It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1995.