Along the Illinois and Michigan Canal

Along the I & M Canal

The Illinois and Michigan canal provided the first complete water route from the east coast to the Gulf of Mexico by connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. The waterway was used by Native Americans and traders from the 1600s, until 1823 when Illinois created a Canal Commission to oversee design and construction of the canal. 

The canal was completed in 1848, at a cost of $6.5 million. It begins at the south branch of the Chicago River at Bridgeport and extends 96 miles to the Illinois River at LaSalle. Originally 60 feet wide and 6 feet deep, the canal has fifteen 15 locks. Commercial traffic was accomplished by barges pulled by mules or horses walking on the towpaths.

In 1933, the Illinois Waterway was completed and the I & M Canal was closed to navigation. Since then, the canal has been developed for recreation, with the addition of shelters and picnic areas and renovation of the tow path for hiking and bicycling.

Locks on the canal that took the barges from elevation to elevation.

History abounds!

Fortunes were made and lost here through the years

Abandoned factories which once supported growing communities on the canal.

The old mule barn

Water traffic is slower now along the canal but still exists.


Photos by Joyce Lavene
www.joyceandjimlavene.com