THE CANAL TRADE AND TRAVEL BECAME POSSIBLE WITH THE I&M CANAL

By Ali Braboy Photos courtesy of Library of Congress

What is now a relic of history previously caused a boom for American travel, transportation and industry.

The Illinois & Michigan Canal sparked the creation of many Illinois communities and led to the city of Chicago becoming a major metropolitan center.

This year especially, the canal’s history and importance are noteworthy as it commemorates its 175th anniversary.

The I&M Canal was a 96mile manmade water highway that connected the Great Lakes to the Illinois River, said Ana Koval, president and CEO of the Canal Corridor Association, a nonprofit that oversees the I&M Canal National Heritage Area. The Erie Canal had already been constructed, and the I&M Canal completed a network to connect the country’s East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico when it opened in 1848.

I&M Canal construction first started in 1836. Before the canal, there were some inland water routes, but transportation and travel mostly were limited to dirt roads that were muddy, dusty and made it extremely difficult to transport goods, Koval said.

The young United States wanted to expand westward, and to expand, the country had to make it easier for people to move. One component of transportation infrastructure was this water highway. The federal government gave the young state of Illinois sections of land to develop and sell to raise money for the canal. Canal commissioners were set up and platted towns from Chicago to the city of La Salle.

The canal made it possible to transport goods between the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, Koval said. Citizens could now move lumber, stone, sand, grain, furniture, cloth, furs – all the products they needed to build communities. This created an economic boom for Chicago.

Koval explained that before the I&M Canal, the premier Midwestern city had been St. Louis. But once the canal opened, Chicago became a financial powerhouse and remains one to this day.

The canal created an emergence of industrial activities in Starved Rock Country’s canal towns because the area was linked to the Great Lakes, which was the world market, according to La Salle local history buff John C. Piano III.

Where did the idea for the canal originate?

Piano explained 17th century French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was the first to propose a canal was needed to connect the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Piano recommends those who are interested in the