Robert Milne House | |
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![]() Interactive map showing the location of the Milne House | |
Location | 535 E. 7th St., Lockport, Illinois |
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Coordinates | 41°35′22″N88°2′57″W / 41.58944°N 88.04917°W Coordinates: 41°35′22″N88°2′57″W / 41.58944°N 88.04917°W |
Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
Built | 1840 |
Architect | Robert Milne |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 79000876 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 17, 1979 |
The Robert Milne House is a historic residence in Lockport, Illinois, United States. It was home to Robert Milne, Canal Commissioner of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
Robert Milne was a mason from Banffshire, Scotland who immigrated to Chicago in 1836. In 1840, he was commissioned to build five of the locks on the Illinois and Michigan Canal (I&M Canal) and moved to its headquarters in Lockport, Illinois. He purchased a 240-acre (97 ha) lot and constructed a farm upon it, calling it "Kelvyn Grove". The land had been platted as the town of East Lockport, but had never been developed. He briefly lived in Chicago in 1849 before returning to Lockport. In 1854, he sold his Chicago business interests to focus on the canal and his ranch. Milne was promoted to Canal Commissioner by Illinois Governor John M. Palmer in 1869. Milne was also one of the first breeders of Shorthorn cattle in the United States. Four generations of the Milne family lived on the farmstead, owning the house until 1979. Most of the land that was previously on the farm is now owned by the Lockport school district although the house itself is a private residence. [2] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1979. [1]
The Robert Milne house stands two stories tall and is built with locally quarried limestone. It is generally Greek Revival in design. The main section is rectangular and has cut stone facades and a stone cornice. There are two interior brick chimneys. The street facade is four bays wide while the backyard facade is five bays. A bracket porch and two rear additions were built after 1873. The property also includes a stone milk house and a well. A modern frame garage is also on the property. [2]
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 crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It was opened in 1848. Its function was partially replaced by the wider and deeper Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900, and it ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.
Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal, and was the headquarters of the canal when the canal was operating. A section of the canal runs through Lockport, including the remains of the canal's Lock No. 1 from which the town received its name. The canal right-of-way is now the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Corridor. Because of proactive efforts dating back several years, the city of Lockport is one of the best-preserved canal sites in existence today.
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