canals and railroads: these methods of transportation were the key to chicago’s growth in the...
TRANSCRIPT
Canals and Railroads:Canals and Railroads:
• These methods of transportation were the key to Chicago’s growth in the 1800s
• They helped Chicago grow faster than any other city in the Midwest
• The I&M Canal and the city’s first railroad both opened in 1848
This is the Canal Origins location in the Bridgeportneighborhood of Chicago today
Canal Construction
This is an actual picture of workers building the canal
Construction took place from 1836 to 1848
Origins Site, 2800 S. Ashland
• This drawing from 1871 shows an attempt to deepen the canal and reverse the flow of the Chicago River
• This would not work, and the river would not be reversed until the Sanitary and Ship Canal was built in 1900 using technology that would later be used to build the Panama Canal
Route of the I & M Canal
• The canal was 96 miles long, and it stretched from Chicago to LaSalle Peru
• Still passes through towns such as Lockport, Joliet, and Ottawa today
• Portion that was in Chicago is mostly paved over by the Stevenson Expressway (55) and can no longer be seen in the city
When the canal opened, boats often started off on the Chicago
River before heading into the canal
Towns along the I & M Canal
• Many towns along the canal had grain elevators
• One in Seneca still exists today
Other historic views of towns along the I&M Canal
Examples of aqueducts and locks
Though the canal was important for Chicago history….
It would not be long before the railroad would overtake the canal
in importance
Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
• The first train was called the Pioneer, and it ran from Chicago to Galena
• On display at CHM
A train coming through Galena, Illinois, today
Canals and railroads would help bring a lot of businesses to Chicago, such as….
GRAIN TRADE
LUMBER
MAIL-ORDER CATALOG
Over a century and a half later…
canals and railroads are still important ways that Chicago is connected to the
rest of the country.
Today, the Sanitary and Ship Canal, opened in 1900, is still used for shipping goods.
And trains still link Chicago to the rest of the state and country.