Illinois and Michigan Canal (Ill.)
After the U.S. Congress granted nearly a hundred miles of public lands (between Lake Michigan and Illinois River headwaters) to the state of Illinois for canal construction (March 30, 1822), the General Assembly passed a canal bill (Feb. 14, 1923) establishing the Illinois and Michigan Canal Company. Following this company's failure, Congress donated Illinois land (March 2, 1827) "equal to one-half of five sections in width, on each side of the canal, reserving each alternate section to the United States." Ground was broken at Lockport and Bridgeport on July 4, 1836, but financial problems kept delaying construction, and it was not until April 1848, that the waterway opened for navigation. With its completion, the inland waterway system connecting New York with New Orleans was completed, spurring settlement and economic development along the canal route and transforming Chicago into a regional industrial and transportation center. Chicago's City Council donated funds to deepen the canal or city sewage disposal (1865), but this work was not completed until 1871, when the General Assembly refunded the city's money following the Chicago fire.
Having paid off all canal creditors by May 1871, the state resumed complete canal control and waterway administration was invested in a gubernatorially appointed Board of Canal Commissioners. This management continued until 1917, when jurisdiction transferred to the Dept. of Public Works and Buildings (1917-1925); then to the Dept. of Purchases and Construction (1925-1933); and finally, back to the Dept. of Public Works and Buildings (1933-1955). After the canal closed to commerce (1935), the state continued to sell and lease property and waterpower sites. Eventually canal and adjacent lands became a state park (1955) while the Dept. of Transportation briefly assumed other administrative responsibilities (1971-1984). On August 24, 1984, President Reagan signed legislation establishing the canal lands as the nation's first National Heritage Corridor, an affiliated National Park Service unit. The Canal, currently administered by the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, provides diverse archeological, natural, historic and recreational resources.
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| Publication Date | Publishing Account | Status | Note | View |
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2021-11-09 05:11:33 am |
Joseph Glass |
published |
User published constellation |
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2021-11-09 05:11:31 am |
Joseph Glass |
merge split |
Merged Constellation |
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