From the Archives: A Glimpse Into Lemont’s History

The Lemont Area Historical Society (LAHS) has generously offered to share photos and accompanying information with Patch readers each week, depicting people, places and things from the village’s storied past.

This week, the LAHS shares a photo of two of Lemont’s historic bridges. It was 1899 when the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was being completed - and this photo was taken of the two bridges that spanned the waterway. On the left is the Stephen Street/Lemont Road bridge, which was used for vehicle traffic - mostly horse and buggy at the time. The bridge was removed in the early 1980s.

On the right is the Santa Fe Railroad bridge, which is still in use - a few million train cars and 112 years later. Notice the railroad bridge was built on the bedrock before it was cleared underneath to form the canal.

Discover more about Lemont history at the historical society museum in the Old Stone Church at 306 Lemont St. The museum is open to the public and welcomes visitors. For more information, visit the LAHS web site at http://www.lemonthistorical.org/ or contact lemontahs@sbcglobal.net.

The Lemont Area Historical Society also invites readers to share their photos of Lemont’s past, to be added to the LAHS archives.

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