Probably the wealthiest entrepreneur in Lockport, Il. during the 1840’s to the 1870’s was Hiram Norton.  Like most of the early residents at this time Mr. Norton was not a native.  He was originally a New England resident from either Vermont or New York.  He was born in 1799.   He was orphaned at a young age.  He moved to Canada; but returned to New York for schooling.  He relocated to Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River.  Here he became a businessman.  He was a partner in a stage coach line between Montreal and  Toronto.  He had an unsuccessful venture in manufacturing a steam boat that could navigate the Saint Lawrence Rapids. He was briefly involved in canal construction along the Saint Lawrence River.  This was never completed.   During this time, he gained experience in limestone quarrying and the use of hydraulic cement.
     While living in Canada, Mr. Norton participated in government activities.  He was a justice of the peace in the Johnston district.  He was a representative in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1831–1838.  He left Canada in 1838 at the time of Upper Canada Rebellion.
  He moved to Lockport (a place that he visited the year before) probably due in part to his interest in the Illinois Michigan Canal.  He soon became involved in hydraulic cement manufacture locally and along the canal route.  He built a grain warehouse on the Chicago River in 1842.
     In the late 1840’s to the early 1850’s, he constructed a large 3 and one half story grain warehouse.  It was manufactured with locally quarried limestone.  It was adjacent to the east bank of the I and M Canal.  Later, the Chicago and Alton Railroad Tracks ran just west of the building.    In 1854, there was a three story addition to the building for a dry good store and warehouse.
     In the late 1840’s to the early 1850’s, a hydraulic basin was built on the west side of the canal.  This provided a 21 foot drop of water to provide power.  Soon after its completion, Mr. Norton obtained exclusive power rights to this basin.  He constructed a flour mill on its western edge.    This became the largest milling operation in Illinois. 
     Mr. Norton also owned a fleet of 5 canal boats.  He died in 1875.
     With the construction of the Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1895, grain shipments on the old canal halted and the Norton company went bankrupt.  With the construction of the Cal Sag Canal in 1911, most of the water power to Lockport was cut and the remaining mills closed.

     In Lockport, Illinois on 10th Street and the Illinois and Michigan Canal is an imposing structure known as the Norton Building.     This building was constructed in the 1850’s by Hiram Norton, a local entrepreneur.  It was 3 and one half stories high.  The limestone used in its construction was quarried locally.   It was strategically located between the I and M Canal on the west and the Chicago and Alton Railroad on the east.   The Norton Company was a major player in Lockport economy for nearly 50 years.  It was a large employer and helped to establish the city as an agricultural center.
     The Norton Building had many uses during its history.  It was used to house grain; it was a supply store: it was used as dormitory for canal workers; it was used as a grain processing facility to the 1950’s. Norton, Inc. was sold to American Grains in 1897. It was subsequently sold to Quaker Oats. In the 1950’s, it was sold to a steel fabricator.

Norton Building

Norton Building

In 1980’s, it was sold to the Norton Building and Company. This organization undertook an extensive restoration project. It was developed as a multi-use facility. There were residential lofts, offices, and commercial space. The Illinois State Museum Complex occupied most of the first floor.

     A distinctive historical building in Lockport is the Lockport Train Station.  This structure is located west of 13th and State Streets and parallels the path of the Illinois Michigan Canal.  It is built of limestone.  It was completed in 1863 and initially served as a stop on the long defunct Chicago, Alton and St. Louis Railroad.
The tracks were also used by the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Railroad.
The station currently is owned and maintained by the City of Lockport.  It

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serves as a Metra Station. 
     The Lockport Station has been in continuous operation since the 1860’s; this is longer than any other train station in the State of Illinois. The Lincoln funeral train passed by the station in 1865.

Lockport Railroad Station

Lockport Railroad Station

     Saint James at the Sag Bridge is the second oldest Catholic church in northern Illinois.  It is located on a bluff overlying the Des Plaines River and the Sag Channel.  The site is rich in history.  Native Americans were the first to occupy the land.  Later the French used the site for a fort. 
     The church was established by Irish Catholic farmers and canal laborers.  Founding date is unclear either 1833 or 1837.  The first church was a simple log cabin on an original Indian trail (later Archer Avenue).  This was formerly a residence of one of the settlers.
     The land on which the current church and cemetery stand was donated by two parishioners–John Sullivan and James Murphy.
     In 1853, the cornerstone of the current church was laid.  Limestone from local quarries was used in the construction.  It took approximately 6 years to haul enough limestone up the bluff to complete the project.
     For years, there was no assigned pastor.  In 1880’s, the first pastor was Father James Bollman.  During his term, he had the church remodelled and enlarged.  Several upgrades took place in the 1890’s.  These include:  stained glass; walls of the church were enlarged; pitch of the roof was changed; new ceiling of Sitka spruce was installed; hand carved walls were installed.
     As one walks through the cemetery, many graves of Irish Catholics from the mid to late 1800’s are seen.  No doubt many of these individuals were canal workers.

Saint James at the Sag Bridge

Saint at the Sag Bridge

Old Grave Markers Saint James Cemetery

Old Grave Marker Saint James Cemetery

     From 1848 to 1871, boats traveling the Illinois and Michigan Canal were towed by either horses or mules.  Steam powered boats were not used on the canal until 1871.  Horses were mainly used on the passenger boats also known as packet boats.  These moved at a rate of approximately 5 miles per hour.  The boats had a short history on the canal (1848-1853)  They eventually were replaced by the Rock Island Railroad.  This was much faster and operated year round.
     Cargo canal boats were towed by a team of 2 to 5 mules. They traveled at a slower pace–2 miles per hour. The mules were a much more hardy animal and could work in shifts of six hours.  The team of mules was

Rutherford Mule Barn Dresden I and M Canal

attached to the canal boat by a 150 foot line.
     Along the canal, at 12 to 15 mile intervals were mule barns.  It was at this site that mule teams were switched so that there would be fresh animals for the next 12 to 15 miles.

Mule Barn along the Lateral Canal Ottawa

     In the Dresden Access of the Illinois Michigan Canal, as one walks down the trail, a large red barn is seen on the north side.   A sign identifies this as the last remaining mule barn of the canal.
     This barn was owned by Salmon Rutherford.  It was built in stages beginning in the 1830’s.  It was built of heavy timber, posts and beams.  The foundation was limestone.  It measures 65 by 26 feet.  An unusual feature is that the barn is on the opposite side of the canal from the tow path.  In addition to serving as a mule barn, the structure was used as a granary to store grain in sacs for later shipment on the canal.

Rutherford Mule Barn

Rutherford Mule Barn.

Dresden Inn or Rutherford Tavern

Who is Salmon Rutherford? He appears to be the first settler of Aux Sable Township arriving there around 1833. He had a farm on Section 26 of the township. He became a leader in township affairs. In 1834, he constructed an inn on the north side of Hansel Road opposite the Dresden Barn. It was known as the Dresden Inn or Rutherford Tavern. This became a stop on a stage coach line between Chicago and Ottawa. Mr. Rutherford charged 12 and one half cents for for an overnight stay and a similar amount for care of a horse. Two years later, a second hotel was built in the area as well as a post office. In 1936, Rutherford platted the town of Dresden. It had approximately 150 residents. There was a ferry business on the Illinois River; there were clay pits that supplied material for manufacturing tiles and bricks. Workers migrated to the region during the construction of the Illinois Michigan Canal and the railroad in Minooka. The population of the town began a decline after canal construction and the railroad construction were completed. Ultimately Dresden became a ghost town.

     Buffalo Rock State Park is an Illinois State Park.  It is located on Dee Bennett Road.  It is between Utica and Ottawa in LaSalle County.  The park is located on a bluff which is adjacent to the Illinois River.  It is approximately 298 acres.
    This is a historical site.  It was the home of the Illinois Indians in the 1600’s.  It is thought that Buffalo Rock was a French military and trading post as well as a missionary site.  More recently the site was used by a religious sect for meetings.  It was also used for a tuberculosis sanitarium.  From 1916–1928, the site was owned by the Crane Company of Chicago.  They used it as as a sanitarium for sick employees and a vacation ground for its workers and their families.  The Crane Company deeded the land to the state of Illinois in 1928.  The terms of the transfer were that the site would be a permanent state park.
     The park is known for its panoramic view of the Illinois Valley and River.  There are also two buffaloes kept on the site.

Panoramic View Illinois River

View Illinois River

Buffalo Rock

Buffalo Rock

Buffalo at the park.

Split Rock Part
     As we proceeded further west from Utica on the Illinois Michigan Canal, we reached

The region of Lock 13. 
This area is not marked.  We saw an area that could possibly represent the remains of the lock.
     Approximately 2.5 miles west of Utica is the actual area of the Split Rock.
     The Split Rock is a gap in a ridge for the passage of the I and M. Canal.  It was built between 1836 and 1842.   It was built with black powder, picks and shovels.  In the 1850’s, the Rock Island Railroad built a tunnel through the north bluff.  In 1882, the canal was partially filled in and part of the north bluff was removed for a second set of tracks for the Rock Island. A third set of tracks was built in 1952.  The track through the tunnel was abandoned at this time.
    In 1903, the Chicago, Ottawa, and Peoria R.R., built two bridges to allow passage over the canal and the Rock Island Railroad tracks.  These bridges are no longer present; they were removed after the railroad went bankrupt.  At one time, there was a beer garden and a dance pavilion on the north bluff.

Split Rock with Tunnel in the North Bluff

Split Rock

Split Rock

Split Rock

Additional pictures of the front of the facility.