An old engraving of boats on The Illinois and Michigan Canal at its opening in 1848. It is from an American history book of 1895. The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It ceased operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.
An old engraving of boats on The Illinois and Michigan Canal at its opening in 1848. It is from an American history book of 1895. The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. From 1848 to 1852 the canal was a popular passenger route, but passenger service ended in 1853 with the opening of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad that ran parallel to the canal. The canal had its peak shipping year in 1882. It ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.
Size: 3780px × 2623px
Location: Illinois/Michigan, USA
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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