From the Archives: Building the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

This week, the historical society takes us back to the 1890s in Lemont, during the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Running nearly parallel to the no longer used Illinois and Michigan (I & M) Canal, by its completion in 1900, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal linked the south branch of the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River just north of Joliet.  

In the first photo, a small steam-powered train hauls rock away from the construction site of the ship canal -- a project that was quite an engineering feat for those days.

In the second photo, a steam engine powers a looping conveyor to haul rock up to the surface in the final phase of construction of the ship canal near Lemont, circa 1897.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Discover more about Lemont history at the Lemont Area 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.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

There are plenty of ways to keep up on Lemont news:

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news email alerts.

• Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take.