Jacques Marquette was born in Laon, France on 6/1/1637.  At the age of 17 he became a Jesuit.  For 12 years he studied and taught in Jesuit Colleges in France.  He was then sent to Canada to be a missionary to the indigenous native population.  He excelled in knowledge of the languages of the Indian peoples.  In 1668, he established a mission in the western great lakes region at Saulte Ste. Marie.  This was followed by a mission at Saint Ignace in 1671.
     In 5/17/1673, he and Louis Jolliet and 5 men were chosen to lead an expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi River.  Marquette was the missionary; Jolliet was the lawmaker and explorer.
     They traveled west to the area that is now known as Green Bay, Wisconsin.
They navigated the Fox River; portgaged to the Wisconsin River.  They reached the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chen.  They then navigated southward to the Arkansas River.   They stopped their exploration at this site when they received reports of Spanish Settlers in this region. 
     It was their intention to return back along the Mississippi River route. Native Indians at the Illinois River told them of a shorter route along this river and the DesPlaines River with a portgage to the Chicago River.  Jolliet returned to Canada.   Marquette and two companions stayed at Green Bay.  In the winter, the group camped in Chicago.

     In the spring of 1675, Marquette and his party returned to the area near Starved Rock.   A bout of dysentery forced him to return home.  He died on May 18, 1675.
Marquette and Jolliet were pioneers in the exploration of the Illinois Valley Region. Jolliet was the first to propose a canal to provide for a continuous link between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River.

So begins day four of our canal travels.  We traveled from Starved Rock to a portion of the canal west of Ottawa.  We walked approximately one and a half miles.  During our travels, we found large supports for a bridge of unknown significance.  From here we reached Lock 12.  We walked back and then traveled to Buffalo Rock Stage Park.  We had a spectacular panoramic view of the Illinois River. From here we traveled farther east and again accessed the I and M canal. Here after a short walk we reached Lock 11. This is apparently a hybrid lock containing old and newer elements.
We then traveled to LaSalle, Il. where we visited Saint Vincent Cemetery. There is a commerative plaque to the many men who died working on the canal and died of infectious diseases. Their remains were transferred from a poorly kept Cemetary to this current location.
We attempted to view Locks 14 and 15. However, this area was inaccessible due to flooding of the Illinois River.

     This is day 3 of our canal walk.  We started out from Joliet and traveled to Morris.   We were able to locate the site of the former Gebhard Brewery.  We walked along the canal east and west.  We reached the site of the destroyed Nettle Creek Aqueduct.  We made a brief circuit of Stratton State Park. We then traveled to Marseilles.  We viewed locks 9 and 10.  From here it was on to Utica.  We traveled to the Split Rock Site.  This is also near the site of former Lock 13.

   The day started with a short commute from Bolingbrook to the Joliet Iron Works.  After traveling through the exhibit, we took the Illinois Michigan Canal walk to locks 3 and 4.  From Joliet, we travelled to Channahon .  Here viewed lock 6 and 7.  The lock keepers house was also seen as well as the dam across the dam across the DuPage River.  From here, we traveled to Aux Sable; here we visualized Lock 8 and the lockkeeper house.  Also seen, was the Aqueduct across the Aux Sable Creek.  We then motored to the Dresden area of the canal.  We walked along the canal, viewed a mule barn, and observed the Dresden Lock and Dam.
     Finally, we went to McKinley Woods Park.  Here we observed portions of the Illinois Michigan Canal and the DuPage River.

On Monday July 13, we began the first day of our canal trip.  We started at the commemorative plaque for Pete Marquette.  This is located on the Damen Ave. bridge over the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.  It commemorates the death of this pioneering explorer.  We were also able to take pictures of the canal and a deserted grain elevator.
     Next we traveled to Willow Springs and were able to take multiple photographs.  From here we went to Lemont and walked several blocks in both directions.   From here, we went to Lockport.  We visualized  Lock 1, (Lock 2 could not be made out), the Norton Building, the Gaylord Building and the former Headquarters of the I and M Canal.  This is obviously undergoing extensive renovation.  From here we visualized the old Iron Works in Joliet.  Thus ends day one of our trip.  Photos will follow after we return home.

     Beginning in 1848 after the canal was completed and until the building debt was paid off, the Illinois Michigan Canal was managed by a board of 3 commissioners.  Two were elected by the creditors and one was appointed by the Illinois governor.  The commission fixed fines and toll rates.  It also established the rules and regulations of the canal.

     Passengers boats on the Illinois Michigan Canal were a common site from 1848–1854.  These boats were known as packet boats (a reference to the packets of mail that they also carried).  However, they also transported oysters, furniture, and retail merchandise.    They travelled between Chicago and LaSalle.    The ticket price was $4.  They were pulled by horses or mules.  They travelled at the rate of 5–6 miles per hour.  Total trip time was well over 20 hours.   Previously this trip was made by stage coach at a speed of 3 miles per hour. 
     Average boat size was 76 x 15 feet.  The boats handled between 90–120 people.
Meals were provided.  Passengers slept on the floor or on shelves. The females were separated from the males by a curtain.  There was obviously no indoor plumbing and a chamber pot was used.  The peak usage of canal boats was in 1848–1852.  Names of packet boats included New Orleans, Illinois, Saint Louis, Queen of the Prairies.  Famous  passengers included A. Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dickens, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. 
The packet boat had a short life span on the canal.  They were replaced by the railroads, first the Chicago and Rock Island. The railroads could travel at a faster pace and operated year round.  The Canal was non operational in the winter. 
     An interesting fact is that a replica of the canal packet boat was built in 1908. It docks on the canal in LaSalle near Lock 14.  It has an aluminum hull and a cabin of white cedar.  It measures 76 x 15 ft.  During the spring and summer, mule pulled rides are offered.  The boat travels from its docking site to the aqueduct over the Little Vermilion River and back.  The name of the boat is the Volunteer.

     This canal was formerly known as the Illinois Mississipi Canal.  It ran from Hennepin to Rock Island.  It was 75.2 miles in length with a 29.3 mile feeder canal from the Rock River in Rock Falls to the canal.  Because of its straight course versus the undulating course of the Illinois River, it shortened the distance between Hennepin and Rock Island by 419 miles.

     There were a total of 32 locks on the main canal.  There was one lock on the feeder canal.  The locks were remarkable for their construction from concrete–an innovation for this time.

     There were 9 aqueducts.  There were 67 bridges for highways and railroads ( C,B, & Q RR., Rock Island, RR., Northwestern RR.).

     The Canal was originally proposed as a means to lower rates by providing competition with the railroad.  Coal, salt, grain, gravel, iron and steel were transported through the canal.

      

History

The canal was first proposed as early 1834. However due to financial conditions in Illinois at this time, most public work projects were cancelled or postponed. Pressure to cheapen freight charges led to the U.S. Congress to approve a preliminary survey on the project in 1870.
The survey was supervised by Colonel Wilson, US Corp of Engineers. The survey was actually done by Graham Lowe, engineer and surveyor. His plan was for a canal 160 feet wide and 7 feet deep. The locks were to be 320 X 70 feet. Total cost was estimated to be $12,500,000.
A second survey was was performed in 1882-3. The surveyor was Major W.H. Barnyard, U.S Corps of Engineers. His proposal was that the canal begin at the Illinois River approximately 1.7 miles above Hennepin. He proposed three sites for the terminus of the canal. A board of Engineers was appointed by Congress in 1886 to assess the effects of a canal on national commerce. A favorable report was generated. Their recommendation for the terminus was Marais d’Osier. This was later rejected in favor of Rock Island.
Although multiple surveys had been done and Congress had considered multiple plans, no action was action was taken until 1890. $500,000 was appropriated to begin construction. They still had to make a decision about the course of the feeder canal from the Rock River. Ultimately, Rock Falls was chosen as the site of the origin of the feeder canal.

The Hennepin Canal construction began on September 19, 1890. Land acquisition began in 1891. Actual excavation started in 1892. At the beginning of construction estimated cost to complete the project was $6,925,900. There were delays because of the need to build both highway and railroad bridges. Areas of the canal had to be lined with clay to prevent leakage of water from the canal. An innovation was the use of concrete to build the locks. This was a cost saving measure. The locks measured 170 by 35 feet. The Canal was completed on October 21, 1907.

The Canal was never as busy as anticipated. There was stiff competition from the railroads for freight. While the canal was under construction, the Army Corps of Engineers widened the locks on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. This was a factor in making the canal obsolete before it was opened. The depression also had a profound effect on canal traffic.
While the canal was in service, the Army Corp of Engineers employed 50 men to maintain the canal. Their jobs were to operate the locks and to patrol the banks looking for breaks.
Beginning in the 1930’s, traffic on the canal was primarily recreational. The Canal was also used for swimming and fishing.
On April 7, 1948, the Corps of Engineers issued a navigation notice. This was a warning that there would be only limited service. In 1951, there was suspension of lock operation and non-essential maintenance. In August 1, 1970, full ownership of the canal was transferred to the State of Illinois.

     The majority of laborers working on the Illinois Michigan Canal were Irish.  The relationship among the workers was not harmonious.  Specifically, there were persistent tensions between the Corkonians (the Catholics from Cork in southern Ireland) and the Far-downers (Catholics from the Irish Provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught).  This was both a traditional rivalry and one related to the competition for jobs on the canal.
     In 1838, construction on the canal shifted from Ottawa to LaSalle.  This precipitated increased tensions
between the two groups.  In May of 1838, the Corkonians feeling that the best jobs on the canal were being given to the Far-downers engaged in a fight with their rivals in Marseilles.  They were successful in this skirmish.  Emboldened, they marched to the Split Rock region between Utica and the Little Vermillion River.  At this site, they joined with 200 men reinforcements led by a local labor boss–a Mr. Sweeney.  From this site, they moved to Peru destroying every shanty of Far-downers they encountered.
The sheriff of LaSalle County, a Mr. Alison Woodruff, was determined to get this riotous situation under control. He dispatched his deputy Zimri Lewis to recruit men for a posse. Major A. F. Hill and M.E. Hollister led an 80 men posse. They were joined by another group of men led by a canal contractor William Byrne.
The posse was able to locate the Corkonians in a region near Buffalo Rock. They drove them back to Ottawa. They then advanced on the rioters and ordered them to leave. The Corkonians refused and they were subsequently fired upon. They subsequently fled back to the Buffalo Rock region. They were pursued by the posse. Many of the Corkonians fled by swimming across the Illinois River. Approximately 15 men were killed during the uprising.

     The Illinois Waterway System is approximately 336 miles.  It extends from the mouth of the Calumet River to the mouth of the Illinois River at Grafton.  It provides a connection between the Great Lakes to the Missippi River.  A series of 8 locks control the flow of water from Lake Michigan.  The upper lock–T.J. O’Brien is 7 miles from Lake Michigan on the Calumet River.  The last lock is 90 miles upstream from the Mississippi River at the LaGrange lock and dam.  The other lock and dams in the system are: Lockport Lock and dam; Brandon Road Lock and dam(Joliet); Dresden Island Lock and dam( Morris); Marseilles Lock and dam; Starved Rock Lock and dam; Peoria Lock and dam.  The channel is maintained at 9 feet. At the O’Brien lock the waterway is 577 feet above sea level; at the LaGrange lock  it is 430 feet above sea level.
History
The Chicago Sanitary District was established in 1892 to create a solution to the recurrent sewage disposal problems plaguing the city. Basically water in Lake Michigan was contaminated with sewage from the Chicago River. The plan developed was to divert water from the lake and the Chicago River into a new canal. In 1892, work started on the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal. It’s goals were to improve transportation, dilute waste and move it downstream. The main channel opened in 1900. It was extended 3 miles downstream of Lockport in 1907. This was associated with the virtual closing of the Summit Division of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. A branch canal–the Cal Sag Canal was constructed between 1911–1922 between the Little Calumet River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. This arrangement allowed some deep water shipping. But the new canal only extended to Joliet. Travel on the DesPlaines and Illinois Rivers was not dependable due to the fluctuating depths.
The Illinois General Assembly passed legislation authorizing the Illinois Waterway Project in 1919. This was to provide a channel between Lockport and Utica. This project was started by the State of Illinois; but was ultimately completed by the army Corps of Engineers in 1933. It’s completion resulted in the closure of the remaining Illinois Michigan Canal.

The Peoria Lock and Dam built in 1938 and the LaGrange Lock and Dam built 1936–9 were not part of the original Illinois Waterway Project.
They were built by the Army Corps of Engineers because of a Supreme Court decision limiting the amount of water that could be diverted from Lake Michigan into the Illinois Waterway.