Lemont Street Cars

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Pat Camalliere
Lemont's Main Street, ca 1913 Photo courtesy of Lemont Area Historical Society

Lemont’s Main Street, ca 1913
Photo courtesy of Lemont Area Historical Society

I find it amazing that, over a hundred years ago, before the automobile was in general use, transportation to and from Lemont offered more options than today.

In the year 1905, for example, the following options were available:

  • A few passengers took barges up or down the I & M Canal, still in operation at that time.
  • Goods were primarily transported on the Sanitary and Ship Canal, which had opened in 1900, less on the I & M.
  • The Chicago and Alton Railroad had stations at both Lemont and Sag Bridge, steam trains in operation since 1858 for both passengers and freight.
  • The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, another steam train line, had passenger and freight service and a Lemont station since the mid-1890s.
  • Both lines together transported passengers through Lemont on twenty trains per day, compared to today’s six.
  • In 1899 an electric train (street car, or trolley) ran to Chicago from stations in Lemont and Sag Bridge, and was extended to Joliet in 1901. Electric trains ran every hour in the winter, and every half hour in the summer.
  • With stops along the way in both directions …

 I remember green Chicago street cars I used to ride as a child. I can still hear the rumble they made over the rails, the clang when they stopped or started, feel the shiny woven wicker seats, see the man who ran from the driver’s place on one end to the opposite end when the car changed directions. It was fun for a child, and much preferable to stinky buses.

What I didn’t know was that electric cars ran for the most part on existing rails that were laid down for horse car lines as early as 1860 or so. Using rails elevated the cars from muddy streets, made a more comfortable ride, and allowed for cars equipped to carry up to 30 passengers to be pulled by only one or two horses.

In the 1890s, after a brief fling with cable cars for a few years, the same rails were used to run trolleys that were powered by electricity—huge batteries over three feet tall, up to a hundred, stacked in rows. These sent power to overhead lines to which the trolleys connected.

First constructed was a line that ran from Lockport Street in Lemont, running a double row of rails down Main Street to Sag Bridge. This extended down Archer Avenue where passengers would transfer at Cicero and Archer to the Chicago system. It was extended a short time later the opposite direction to Joliet, following much of today’s New Avenue.

Passengers loved the electric trains. They were clean and quiet, not loud, dirty and smoky like steam trains, and they were inexpensive, with frequent departures and stops along the way. They were not mere transportation—they were entertainment, an event, a good place to take a date.

They made the trip from Joliet to downtown Chicago, transfer included, in about an hour and a quarter, for five cents. Think about that next time you’re stopped on the Stevenson in bumper to bumper traffic.

Next time: Railways as recreation.

 

News

Thanks!

To those of you who joined us to walk the Keepataw Trail.
It was a bit of an adventure. Hope you all had fun.

In addition to print, Amazon, Kindle, Nook and Kobo,
The Mystery at Sag Bridge is now available as an iBook. 

Pat

If you are enjoying the information in these newsletters, please consider forwarding them to your friends, or letting them know they can subscribe at www.patcamallierebooks.com.

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Lemont and Chicago’s Lincoln Park

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Pat Camalliere
Waterfall at Waterfall Glen, photo courtesy Du Page Forest Preserve District

Waterfall at Waterfall Glen, photo courtesy Du Page Forest Preserve District

Did you know that land and plants from Lemont went into the creation of Chicago’s Lincoln Park? And that you can walk the Keepataw Trail that traversed through that property?

On the north bluff of the Des Plaines River Valley, between the river and Argonne Laboratory, is Waterfall Glen, managed by the Du Page Forest Preserve District. The main trail of Waterfall Glen passes through the area, following a path developed many years ago by Boy Scouts as Keepataw Trail. The scouts earned a unique badge for hiking, camping, and helping to maintain the trail.

Once the area was farmland with a lumber mill along Sawmill Creek. It became Forest Preserve property in 1925. In the 1970s, Argonne Laboratory, adjacent to the park, donated some of its unused land to expand Waterfall Glen. In the years between the use of the property as farmland and later as recreation land, it was put to another little-known use.

Chicago’s Lincoln Park began as City Cemetery, in operation from 1843 to 1859. After the Civil War, a decision was made to relocate the remains buried there and create a park. The park was named Lincoln Park, as Lincoln’s assassination had just occurred. The Lincoln Park Commission, later to become the Chicago Park District, was created in 1869 and began to relocate the graves. The process took many years, and seems to some extent incomplete. To this day remains are occasionally found, due to the fact that grave markers were destroyed during the Chicago Fire.

In 1907, in accord with many landfill projects, 107 acres of Lemont land became a nursery that provided topsoil and plants for Lincoln Park. It was located on the bluff southeast of the present location of the Rocky Glen Waterfall, on the eastern side of Waterfall Glen.

Those who hike and bike the trail through the area have puzzled about the remnants of a small structure with “LPS 1921” carved into the stone. Although there is some ambiguity, it is thought the carving is for “Lincoln Park School”, which was actually a small administration building used by the nursery.

In front of the lookout point on the main trail the viewer will notice a broadening of the river. This is the “borrow pit” from which topsoil was removed to cover Lincoln Park with fertile soil for its lawns, field, and gardens.

Other areas of historical interest are found along the old Keepataw Trail, including Signal Hill, a high ground used by Native Americans to send smoke signals, and the picturesque waterfall shown above. Surprisingly, the name of the preserve did not come from the waterfall, but was named in honor of Seymour “Bud” Waterfall, an early president of the district.

If you find yourself with nothing to do at 8:30 am on Labor Day, September 7, why not join the Lemont Area Historical Society for a walking tour on Keepataw Trail? The one-hour tour will include Sawmill Creek and the waterfall, and maps will be distributed for those who would like to make a longer hike on their own, and tour guide Richard Lee promises some surprises. Reservations are required, and the fee is $5.00 cash. The tour will begin at the Rocky Glen parking area near Cass and Bluff Roads. Call the Lemont Area Historical Society at 630-257-2972 to make reservations and for more details.

I plan to be one of the guides on this tour, and autographed copies of my book, The Mystery at Sag Bridge, will be available for purchase.

Map of section of Waterfall Glen, courtesy Du Page Forest Preserve District

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The Women of Smokey Row

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Pat Camalliere

Of the hundred or so “establishments” that composed Lemont’s Smokey Row between 1893 and 1897, some called themselves saloons, clubs, gambling halls, brothels, or dance halls. Typically, in addition to liquor and gambling, women were part of the “trade”, and entertainment such as nude dancing was readily available and advertised.

Although tolerated for the income these places brought, Smokey Row was obviously not a source of pride in the community, and Lemont had little interest in recording or preserving its history. For this reason, I have no photo to post with this article, and not a lot is known about the establishments nor the women who worked in them. The women, and the saloons, also changed their names as frequently as they changed their clothes; nonetheless, a few stories have trickled down from the past.

On payday, when the workday ended, the tops of the workers’ heads could be seen bobbing along as they approached Smokey Row, and the competition for patrons began. Women didn’t wait for the men to arrive, but rushed out clothed in exotic dress—and a range of undress—to entice and latch onto a “gentleman” for the evening. Often the “ladies of the evening” fell to battling each other over patrons, sometimes in the front yard of a resident. The fun began before the establishments were even entered!

Hattie Briggs was over six feet tall, weighed 250 pounds, and her trademark dress was a long red coat. The cost of a prostitute in the house of ill repute she ran was only 25 cents, but she made her fortune by grabbing the patron, taking his money, and throwing him out the door. She kept her business going by paying protection to town officials. She was so successful that her friends flocked to join her, setting up their own businesses, resulting in increased rents in vacant buildings, so that honest businessmen profited from her trade too.

A middle-aged woman who called herself “Sarah Bernhardt” could best be described as “ridden hard and put away wet”, but was so popular among the patrons of Smokey Row that when she was arrested in one of the town’s infrequent raids, a mob estimated to be over a hundred men fought each other to post her bail.

On one of the raids, seventy or so women were arrested and put on a train to Chicago. Viewing the incident as a minor setback, feeling they could easily get protection from the mayor, they discovered him riding in their car, as he had been arrested too. (That would be Mayor John McCarthy, for whom McCarthy Road is named.) As it turned out, their confidence was warranted.

When the raid began, women streamed out of the saloons, running down the canal towpath in various stages of undress. Townspeople flocked out of their homes to view the excitement, and a crowd boarded a second train to Chicago, which actually arrived before the prisoners, who exited the train waving to their fans. A wealthy Lemont resident stood bail for all the Smokey Row residents, and by 1 am everyone was back in town, and back in business as usual.

The raids had been held at the prompting of Reverend Clancy in a struggle against immorality. In an effort to entrap him, a plot was devised by saloon owners to lure Clancy to the bedside of a young woman on Smokey Row on the premise that she was dying and wanted to repent. The idea was to either do away with Clancy or compromise him, but the kind-hearted prostitute yelled out a warning to Clancy in time.

Sort of sounds like the Wild West, right here in historic downtown Lemont, doesn’t it? But with our own unique flavor.

If you missed my last blog that introduced Smokey Row, please visit my web site, www.PatCamalliereBooks.com.

News
 Much of the information in today’s blog was obtained from Sonia Kallick’s book, Lemont and It’s People.
Sonia loved Lemont and wrote articles about it for years, resulting in this book which is available at the Lemont Historical Society. It is an excellent, and often delightful, reference.

In addition to print, Amazon, Kindle, Nook and Kobo,
The Mystery at Sag Bridge is now available as an iBook.
I am also delighted with some new reviews.
Please read them after the blog post.

Hope you are all enjoying the last weeks of summer.
Pat

If you are enjoying the information in these newsletters, please consider forwarding them to your friends, or letting them know they can subscribe at www.patcamallierebooks.com.

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Local History – Lemont’s Smokey Row, Beginnings and Growth

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Pat Camalliere

IMG_0610News
 I thought I’d lead off with the picture I promised you of my new granddaughter, Mia Elena. She is 15 days old today, and was 5 days old when this picture was taken. Grandma is very proud, of course, and made her little hat.

Better than the map picture I would have led off with. But never fear, the map appears below. 


If you are enjoying the information in these newsletters, please consider forwarding them to your friends, or letting them know they can subscribe at www.patcamallierebooks.com.

Lemont’s Smokey Row, Beginnings and Growth

Smokey Row

Lemont was not always the upstanding, law-abiding, quiet suburb it is now. Before the year 1900 Lemont was notorious throughout Chicagoland for its sin strip, Smokey Row, which offered an abundance of places for gambling, liquor, drugs, and loose (or paid!) women, as well as the further amusements of bar fights and even organized (although illegal) prizefights.

As early as the 1860s, a small area on the northeast side of the I & M Canal served men brought to town by work on barges, quarries, and railroads. Many were single men, poorly paid, who worked long hours. In their little free time, they sought out places nearby—few had means of transportation—and inexpensive amusement to distract them from their hardships. Smokey Row catered to their wishes.

A tough, violent place, where assault and even murders were commonplace, at its beginning it was cut off from the citizens of Lemont, and received little attention outside of its patrons, even from legal control. The village had no police until 1873, and township marshals were not about to march into the area alone. Can you blame them?

So Smokey Row and the honest citizens of Lemont co-existed side by side for years, until the early 1890s when three events changed the picture.

The first was the beginning of construction on the Sanitary and Ship Canal, bringing a huge temporary work force of primarily single men to the area. The second and third were the closing of Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exhibition, and the economic depression that the nation experienced at the same time. Lemont, due to the canal construction, was one of the few places in the area that had jobs and a favorable economy, and both seedy businesses and those who patronized them left Chicago for Lemont.

The result was an enormous expansion of Smokey Row. The original establishments stayed in place, but more opened west, and crossed to the south side of the canal along Stephen, Canal and Main Streets. By 1895, it was estimated that over 100 “dives” were in operation.

Smokey Row soon came to the attention of outside newspapers, in Chicago and Joliet, who publicized its existence, and attracted even more patrons from those cities. From the Joliet News, June, 1895:

“The scenes and orgies, the crimes and revelries around Sag Bridge and Lemont would disgrace even frontier settlements. The saloons and dives are doing an immense business and probably 60 percent of the $600,000 paid each month goes into their hands. All along the channel are saloons which sell a brand of firewater called “Canal Tanglefoot”. This drink tastes like a compound of blue vitriol and gunpowder; one sip of this concoction will either send a man on the warpath or render him unconscious. Outside the regular population of 7,000 the noisy places on Smokey Row have attractions for several thousand men who either work on the canal or make a living on those who do. Most of the good folk of the town lock their doors at night and pull the covers over their heads. Some few rake in the money.”

One might wonder why all this was tolerated, but remember that we were in the midst of a depression at the time. The town collected license fees and taxes from the establishments, to the tune of $500,000 a year by 1894. Although torn by the money or the lawlessness the dives brought, nothing was done, you might guess trustees looked the other way and took the easy way out, and I’m not about to say you would be wrong. Let’s just say, the Village Hall and an annex to Central School were among the projects paid for by Smokey Row.

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Illinois, The Sucker State

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Pat Camalliere

 

 

One nickname for Illinois is The Land of Lincoln (which appears on the U.S. Mint's bicentennial commemorative quarter for Illinois).

One nickname for Illinois is The Land of Lincoln (which appears on the U.S. Mint’s bicentennial commemorative quarter for Illinois).

You probably recognize Illinois’s state nickname as, The Land of Lincoln. That’s what you read on coins and auto license plates, right? Perhaps you also recognize Illinois as The Prairie State.

What you may not know is that for much of the 19th century, Illinois had a less noble nickname: The Sucker State. Yes, I’m serious! There is no doubt that this nickname was associated with Illinois, but the origin of the moniker is subject to debate.

One explanation involves a common practice among travelers and inhabitants of the prairie. When water was needed, long, hollow reeds were thrust down into crawfish holes, and the water was literally sucked up, as through a straw. Such watering holes were called “suckers” by locals.

Another explanation derives from the earliest settlers of the state, immigrants from the tobacco states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia to central and southern areas of Illinois. Tobacco plants had sprouts from the main stem that were commonly called “suckers”, which had to be removed so as not to rob the plant of vital nutrients. Many of these early settlers were poor people who had moved to Illinois seeking a better life, but society tended to look down on poor migrants, considering them a burden. It was thought that most of such settlers would fail and perish, much as the tobacco sprouts did. Therefore, they were therefore derisively called “suckers,” and the term came to refer to the entire region, essentially most of the state’s population.

Perhaps the most popular explanation had to do with the northern part of the state instead. When the state’s first lead mine was opened in 1824 near Galena, thousands flocked to the area in search of work. Most came from Missouri and southern Illinois, traveling north on steamboats up the Mississippi River to Galena in the spring, where they would work until fall, and then return home. These travels corresponded to the migration pattern of a fish called a “sucker”, and the name was attributed to these workers by Missourians as a joke. With 6,000 to 7,000 men coming to the Galena mine each year by 1827, the mass influx and exodus generated considerable strains and rivalries. In retaliation for the derisive term “suckers”, Illinoisans started calling Missourians “pukes”, a reference to the way in which Missouri had vomited forth to Galena the worst of her residents.

Over Illinois’ nearly 200-year history, the state’s residents have been called other names, and The Land of Lincoln, as well as The Prairie State, are considerable improvements. I’m sure you’ll agree that, in view of recent events in our proud state, being called suckers presents an image problem that not even today’s best public-relations experts could handle.

News


 The best news I have to share this week has nothing to do with history, but everything to do with the birth of my new grand daughter yesterday, Mia Elena Dempsey! I hope to be able to include a picture for you soon.

Aside from that exciting event, everything else pales, but it has been a busy couple of weeks with Amika’s Book Signing and Reading on July 6, a delightful afternoon at Franciscan Village in Lemont on July 9, Lemont’s Heritage Fest on July 11, and the Farmer’s Market on
July 14.

 

If you are enjoying the information in these newsletters, please consider forwarding them to your friends, or letting them know they can subscribe at www.patcamallierebooks.com.

 

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Lemont Waterways: The Cal Sag Channel

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Pat Camalliere
Doesn’t look like much, does it? This is a ditch that drained swampy areas in the Sag Valley and flowed into the Sanitary Canal prior to construction of the Cal-Sag Channel that replaced it. Photo courtesy Sanitary District of Chicago.

Doesn’t look like much, does it? This is a ditch that drained swampy areas in the Sag Valley and flowed into the Sanitary Canal prior to construction of the Cal-Sag Channel that replaced it. Photo courtesy Sanitary District of Chicago.

So here’s the bottom line. After almost 80 years and three generations of effort to improve the Chicago waterways, to allow for adequate flow away from Chicago and Lake Michigan, to ensure water levels that would not allow flow back into the lake—guess what? It still didn’t work as planned! At low water levels, that canal still flowed the wrong way, although now only occasionally—but even occasionally was not desirable. So what to do? I bet you know. Why this was Chicago—we built another canal!

A small ditch, sometimes just swampland, trickled through that other valley, the Sag Valley. At one time that ditch flowed into the Des Plaines River, but now, of course, both the I & M Canal and the Sanitary Canal flowed between the ditch and the river. If it had some more water in it, that would do the trick.

In 1911 construction began on the Cal-Sag Channel, which connected the Little Calumet River to the Sanitary Canal at Sag Bridge. It was completed in 1922. It did the job. Finally.

The Little Calumet River ultimately connects to Lake Michigan south of Chicago. “Experts” think the first canal, the I & M, should have taken this route through the Sag Valley instead of the Des Plaines River Valley. Who knows if this would have worked any better?

Lemont is the only place where all four waterways flow: the Des Plaines River in its new bed; the old unused I & M Canal, now part of the I & M Heritage Corridor and its system of trails; and the meeting of the Sanitary Canal and Cal-Sag Channel within its boundaries.

If one drives north on Archer Avenue from Lemont, just past where Archer becomes Route 83 for a short distance, is a quarry on your right, and you proceed over a bridge that takes you over the Cal-Sag Channel. This waterway replaces much of what was once the town of Sag Bridge. After this bridge, Archer splits off to the right. At this intersection, the high ground overlooks both valleys and directly to the west the Cal-Sag and Sanitary Canal meet. Proceeding north on Route 83, you pass over the I & M Canal, then the Sanitary Canal, and then the Des Plaines River. Take a good look next time you go this way. I hope you remember some of what you just read.

News
 There is a lot of news this week!
 First, a reminder that on Monday night, July 6, I will be a featured writer at a book signing event hosted by my publisher, Amika Press, along with more of Amika’s writers and new releases. See below for more information, and I hope to see some of you there!

Next, I was pleased to be spotlighted on CelticLady’s Reviews, a book review blog. Those of you who have read The Mystery at Sag Bridge will realize the significance of an Irish book reviewer!
 You can view the spotlight here:

Congratulations to Amy Manta, who was selected after the Tinley Park Library Author Fair to receive a Wellness Journal.

And last, but not least, have a wonderful holiday this weekend!

AmikaPress_6July15_flyer

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Submarines on the Chicago Sanitary Canal

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Pat Camalliere
WWII Submarine in floating dry dock at Lockport, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Photo courtesy Gary Ward and the Lockport Historical Society, ca 1943.

WWII Submarine in floating dry dock at Lockport, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Photo courtesy Gary Ward and the Lockport Historical Society, ca 1943.

When I was in high school, boys said they took their girl to watch submarine races, meaning they went “necking”. After you read this you may wonder if this is how that old saying got started. Today I’m talking about real United States World War II submarines traveling down the Sanitary Canal.

In 1940, the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin was commissioned to construct submarines by the U. S. Navy for use in WWII. The company, who had never built a submarine before, completed the first sub 228 days ahead of schedule, and promptly was awarded additional contracts. Ultimately, 28 submarines were constructed, at a cost of more than $5,000,000 LESS than the contract price. That’s pretty impressive when one thinks about defense spending in more recent years. Perhaps, since the company was new at the submarine business, they didn’t realize it was supposed to take longer and cost more.

The subs were tested in Lake Michigan, a process referred to as “shakedown training”, and were determined fit for service. The question then should occur to you—how to get the subs from Lake Michigan to sea? The St. Lawrence Seaway had not been opened yet.

 

Our Sanitary Canal, the engineering marvel constructed 40 years before the war, to the rescue again! The subs had a draft of 15 feet, and the Chicago River and Sanitary Canal could well handle that. Not to say the process was clear sailing (forgive the pun, please!). Here’s how the trip was accomplished:

Periscopes and radar masks were removed in order to clear bridges. One railroad bridge remained too low for passage of the subs, at Western Avenue. The Navy paid for lift machinery to elevate the bridge so the subs could clear. The subs then traveled down the canal to Lockport, where they were loaded onto a floating dry dock (or barge) for the remainder of the trip down the Illinois River, towed by the tugboat Minnesota, through the 9-foot-deep Chain of Rocks Channel at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and down the Mississippi to New Orleans. There the periscopes and radar masts were reinstalled.

Residents turned out to stand along the sides of the canal and watch submarines travel down the canal to war. So if you run across an oldster from one of our canal towns who talks about watching submarines on the sanitary canal during “the war”, he or she is not inventing a story to impress you, but describing a truly rare event.

My thanks to Gary Ward and Candace Hrpcha from the Lockport Historical Society (http://www.lockporthistory.org/ ) for assistance with this article. If you have further interest I suggest you visit the website of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. This link is to a photo I especially liked: http://www.wisconsinmaritime.org/the-submarine-experience/28-freshwater-submarines/uss-hammerhead/

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Lemont Waterways – Admiral Dewey and the Battle of the Ship Canal

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Pat Camalliere

 

Post card, ca. early 1900s, courtesy of Lemont Area Historical Society. Post cards were very inexpensive during this time period and a popular way of communicating.

Post card, ca. early 1900s, courtesy of Lemont Area Historical Society. Post cards were very inexpensive during this time period and a popular way of communicating.

I promised you a story about the opening of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The truth is, not everyone was in favor of the canal. St. Louis filed a lawsuit in 1899 to prevent the opening, fearing it would do little more than dilute Chicago’s pollution, move the contamination further “downstream” and poison the waters all the way to New Orleans. A battle ensued at the end of 1899: Missouri was preparing a case for a federal court to issue injunctions to stop the canal, and the Sanitary District was racing to complete the job before that could happen.

On New Year’s Day, 1900, the Sanitary District trustees declared the canal ready to open. That night, with no ceremony or official notice, a dredge began to work its way through a small barrier at 31st Street and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago, a thin strip that separated the Chicago River from the canal, and water began to trickle its way into the new canal. It worked its way to the dam by January 17. Once begun, the damage was done, and no injunction could now stop the flow.

Later that spring, Admiral Dewey, the great hero of the Spanish-American War at Manila Bay, paid a visit to Chicago. He was tremendously popular at the time, and was being considered to run for President. Seeing an opportunity to correct the negative feelings that had been generated about the canal, he was invited to perform an inspection tour to demonstrate to the world the great accomplishment.

Construction workers along the canal were once again involved in bitter work disputes, but suspended strikes planned for the day, and built a platform for boarding. Accompanied by Mayor Harrison of Chicago, Admiral Dewey and a host of 200 dignitaries boarded the cutter “Hilda” on May 2, 1900, for a trip down the canal to the Bear Trap Dam at Lockport.

Each town they passed along the way attempted to outdo the rest with ceremony, crowds of people, children waving flags and singing patriotic songs from the canal banks, and much cheering and setting off of cannon volleys. An elaborate luncheon was held on board, with an abundance of food and drinks for all—not a wise choice, as things turned out.

In order to ensure adequate flow, the chief engineer had ordered extra water in the canal, and as the boat neared Lockport, it began to rain heavily. The increased water level was creating an undertow, a hazardous situation as the cutter moved toward the dam.

Seeing this, Dewey suggested Harrison warn the captain to stay well clear of the controlling works at the dam. High on the excitement of the day and the honor of carrying the Admiral down the canal, undoubtedly affected by the drinking of a good deal of spirits, the captain blustered that this was his boat, he knew what he was doing and did not require any interference.

When Harrison returned to the deck, Dewey could not at first be found. Returning to the bridge, Harrison found Dewey alone at the helm. The captain was being held in a stateroom, ranting about mutiny and cursing Dewey. Dewey reassured Mayor Harrison that he was successfully getting the boat clear of the dam, but noted that he had felt in greater danger than he ever was in Manila.

Meanwhile, the rain stopped, the people, unaware of what was occurring, cheered their hero, and the trip back to Chicago was made not on the canal but by train.

This story is taken from anecdotes available at the Lemont Area Historical Society. Today the power house is operated remotely by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, and the dam is not accessible to the public. However, during the City of Lockport’s upcoming Old Canal Days celebration, free tours of the lock will be given on a first come, first served basis on June 20 and 21, beginning at 10:15 am and hourly thereafter. Boarding passes will be issued and buses will depart from Heritage Village, at 2nd and State in Lockport.

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Lemont Waterways: The Sanitary Canal

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Pat Camalliere
Picture of men in crane basket during construction of the Canal in Lemont, 1895. Photo courtesy the Lemont Area Historical Society.
Picture of men in crane basket during construction of the Canal in Lemont, 1895. Photo courtesy the Lemont Area Historical Society.

This is my favorite canal—okay, I know—that’s strange, to have a favorite canal. But what a canal!

The ambition was huge. Nothing like this had ever been done. The Sanitary District of Chicago was going to move the Des Plaines River into a new bed, and use the old riverbed to excavate a new canal, with a system of locks to reverse the flow of the Chicago River. It became known locally as “The Chicago School of Earth Moving”.

And the canal was huge. It ran 28 miles from Chicago to Lockport, averaging 150 feet wide and 22 feet deep. It took 8500 men and an assortment of newly-designed machines to remove 29 million cubic yards of soil and 12 million cubic yards of rock. In comparison, the Suez Canal is 82 feet wide and is excavated in sand, not stone. The machines and techniques developed to construct the Sanitary Canal were used to train people who constructed the Panama Canal some years later.

The equipment, newly designed just for this project, was remarkable: a grading machine pulled by 16 horses, fifty steam shovels, and a dredge 23 feet wide and 50 feet long, for instance. The picture above shows the capacity of a large crane basket, in this case filled with tourists rather than stone. I thought the dog was a nice touch. Construction was occurring at the same time as Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the country, indeed the world, was in the midst of an age of technology; the automobile had been invented but was not yet in general use.

Canal construction was such an event that the Chicago and Alton Railroad ran excursions of the construction sites, urging sight-seers to visit the sites for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to view the outstanding geological and mechanical features, describing it as “…the most stupendous and miraculous example of canal construction and channeling which the world has ever known….” People on the tour were encouraged to get off at any of six train stops, walk around the sites and machinery, and bargain for fossils, which were plentiful in the exposed stone walls.

Construction began in 1892, the Lemont section was finished about 1896, and the canal opened on January 2, 1900 (more about that in a future post). The terminus is Bear Trap Dam, now the Lockport Dam, which regulates the flow of the canal into the Des Plaines River. It is the only shipping link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

It is of note that the depth of the Lockport Dam is the same as that of the Niagara River, which connects to the Great Lakes, as does the canal. One might wonder what would happen if the dam were to fail. It has been said that Niagara Falls would run dry and Central Illinois would become a lake. I’m not going to comment about the truth of that supposition.

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The I & M Canal – Part Two

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Pat Camalliere
This is a photo of the I & M Canal as it looks today. The canal channel runs across the back of the photo following the stone wall. In the foreground is a turning basin that a barge would pull into to allow another barge to pass. There were a number of these between each canal port. There were ports in both Lemont and Sag Bridge.

This is a photo of the I & M Canal as it looks today. The canal channel runs across the back of the photo following the stone wall. In the foreground is a turning basin that a barge would pull into to allow another barge to pass. There were a number of these between each canal port. There were ports in both Lemont and Sag Bridge.

The Lemont section of the I & M canal was dug initially by French and Irish men who were recruited from Canada, where jobs for unskilled laborers were scarce. Later they were joined by Irish and German immigrants. Irish men from certain regions of Ireland had a great deal of difficulty getting along with each other, and the Germans and Irish didn’t get along either. Quarrels were serious and frequent. Adding to the long days and hard labor, much of the Lemont section was dug through rock or swampland, and the men stood in water a good deal of the time, increasing the incidence of disease. They lived primarily in tents, dormitory style, and overcrowding and poor hygiene added to their difficult living and working conditions. The typical workday lasted fourteen hours.

Many of you know the rest of the story: the canal was finished in 1848; promises were broken as the contractors ran out of money. Canal workers were treated badly and paid not with money but with paper to buy cheap land; the population of Chicago, after the canal opened, jumped to 30,000 by 1850 and 110,000 by 1860, and Chicago became established as the major transportation hub of the United States; the canal workers left Lemont or took jobs in the quarries—oh, you didn’t know that part? Well, that’s a story for another time, but here’s a hint: the quarry workers weren’t treated any better than the canal workers were.

Note the rock on the left. This is what the canal was dug through. Construction of the canal led to the discovery of a popular limestone that was quarried commercially after the canal was completed. The canal was dug 6 feet deep and 60 feet wide, by hand remember, through this rock. It was also used to construct the canal walls.

Note the rock on the left. This is what the canal was dug through. Construction of the canal led to the discovery of a popular limestone that was quarried commercially after the canal was completed. The canal was dug 6 feet deep and 60 feet wide, by hand remember, through this rock. It was also used to construct the canal walls.

So here’s the final word on the I & M Canal. It led to the growth of Chicago, but as the population grew a serious problem developed: the waterways became polluted and disease, especially fear of cholera, became of great concern. Homes, farms, the stockyards, and other industries dumped waste into the Chicago River, which carried it out into Lake Michigan. The lake was the area’s source of drinking water. NOT GOOD.

Oh, mules pulled barges up and down the canal to the thriving canal ports, and enough water to float them was diverted into the canal. But the dry spells that affected the Des Plaines River also affected the canal, and waste management became a serious concern. The Chicago Sanitary District was created in 1889 to solve the problem.

Something had to be done…a better canal was needed to fix that, and it ultimately replaced the I & M Canal. The new canal was called the Chicago and Sanitary Ship Canal (by locals “the drainage ditch”) and it was a marvel of engineering. It reversed the flow of a river!

The I & M Canal did not officially close until 1933. Today remnants of it remain. Lemont has well developed walking and biking trails extending from its historical downtown area both east and west along the canal, which also travel past picturesque old quarries. The pictures above were taken there just this week. There are similar sections in other communities along the way, including a loop that can be accessed from Archer Avenue in the forest preserves east of Red Gate Woods and from Willowbrook. Walk them, or bike them. Or fish the quarries. You’ll enjoy it.

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