Will County Historical Society Headquarters | |
Location | 803 S. State St., Lockport, Illinois |
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Coordinates | 41°35′21″N88°3′17″W / 41.58917°N 88.05472°W Coordinates: 41°35′21″N88°3′17″W / 41.58917°N 88.05472°W |
Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
Built | 1845 |
Architectural style | Greek Revival, Late Victorian |
Part of | Lockport Historic District (ID75000676) |
NRHP reference No. | 72000467 [1] |
Added to NRHP | May 17, 1972 |
The Will County Historical Society Headquarters is a historic building in Lockport, Illinois, United States, originally known as the Illinois and Michigan Canal Office Building. It served as the headquarters of the Canal Commission of the Illinois and Michigan Canal from 1836 until 1871, when control of the canal was transferred to the state.
The Illinois and Michigan Canal was a canal that connected Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River via the Illinois and Chicago Rivers. It was first conceived in 1824, when a survey of five potential routes was assessed. Three years later, the United States Congress approved the project. In 1829, the Canal Commission was formed to raise money and oversee the project. The project was dormant until ground was broken on July 4, 1836. That year, the Canal Commission laid out the town of Lockport, Illinois with the intention of locating the canal headquarters there. Slowed by the Panic of 1837, the canal was finally completed in 1848. The headquarters building was built in 1845. The first ship on the canal was launched in Lockport. The Canal Commission operated the canal from this building until 1871, when canal operation was turned over to the state. [2]
The building was later purchased by the Will County Historical Society as a headquarters and museum. On May 17, 1972, the building was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. When the Lockport Historic District was created three years later, the building was listed as a contributing property. [1]
The former canal office building is generally Greek Revival in style, with a symmetrical facade, low hipped roof, rectangular transom, and recessed porch. The original building was one story and today corresponds to the northern portion. A two-story residence was added to the south end of the structure in the 1860s or 1870s. The residence reflects a more Victorian style with deeply molded eaves, heavy brackets, turned porch, and low-pitched roof. However, the two portions of the building share similar window patterns. [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.
The Lockport Powerhouse is a run-of-the-river dam used by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to control the outflow of the Sanitary and Ship Canal and limit the diversion of water from Lake Michigan into the Des Plaines River.
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The Gaylord Building, constructed in 1838 in the downtown historic district of Lockport, Illinois, and on the canalside there, played a pivotal role in the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. It is on the United States National Register of Historic Places, and is one of 29 Historic Sites of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is constructed of yellow limestone, a common construction material in north central Illinois. It has an Italianate three story addition added in 1859. After falling into disrepair, it was the focus of a concerted restoration and preservation effort that began in 1983, which was later noted as setting a model for such efforts.
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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.
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