Third Friday Lecture – The Waterway That Built Chicago: The Illinois & Michigan Canal

Chicago likes to tell its story as a railroad city, a meatpacking city, an industrial city, and a great inland metropolis. But before any of that could happen, there was the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Clint Cargile explores the history of the I&M Canal and makes the case that Chicago would not exist as we know it without this 96-mile man-made waterway. By linking the Great Lakes to the Illinois and Mississippi river systems, the canal transformed Chicago from a small frontier settlement into a transportation hub with access to the interior of the continent. He’ll discuss the enormous labor required to build the canal, the communities that grew around it, and the economic changes it set in motion. He’ll also examine Lockport’s famous claim to be “The City That Built Chicago” and ask just how much truth lies behind the boast. Admission: Members – $5; Non-Members – $10.