Lockport’s National Register Historic District Lockport was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1975. PASSPORT TO LOCKPORT City of Historic Pride N W+ E S

Bold striped area denotes I&M Canal. Map courtesy of Old Canal Days

This Passport tour of Lockport extends beyond the designated historic district to include the I&M Canal trail and Lock #1. The Sanitary & Ship Canal and the Illinois Waterway are also included because of their importance to the area.

A Self-guided Walking Tour, a brochure featuring the Your Guide to Historic Places and Friendly Faces architecture of the historic district, is available at historic sites and from Main Street Lockport, Inc. For more information, please call (815) 834-0700. A Short Walk Through Time and Place Past and Present in Lockport are Virtually Inseparable ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL Walk just a few blocks through the historic district and it becomes GAYLORD DONNELLEY CANAL TRAIL clear that the past and present in Lockport are virtually inseparable. What was old has been made new again. Each site featured in this Passport is a LOCK #1, DIVISION & CANAL STREETS part of the legacy of our 19th century canal town. Many sites retain their A Link to the original appearance and function; others have been adapted for new uses. Historic District In addition to the downtown business district, there are four museum sites and a recreational trail along the I&M Canal–the superhighway that connected Lake Michigan with the . The canal helped nurture NEW: Lock #1 is 8 a new nation by fostering travel, trade and settlement throughout the 1800s. blocks from the Pioneer The canal and our town continue to make an impression locally, Settlement. For trail regionally and nationally. Visitors from all over the U.S. and the world visit information, call the here. Passport to Lockport invites students, residents and visitors to Twp. Park District at celebrate our heritage with a short walk through time and place in our town. (815) 838-1183.

SCHOOL TOURS AND GROUP RESERVATIONS THEN: Lock #1 is the To tour the I&M Canal Museum, contact Rose Bucciferro, Executive first of the originally Director, at (815) 838-5080 or write to: Will County Historical Society, planned 15 numbered 803 South State Street, Lockport, IL 60441. WCHS is a 501 (c) 3 not-for- locks on the canal from profit membership organization and is not supported by public funds. to LaSalle-Peru. ______The canal connected Lake Michigan with the Lockport Area Genealogical & Historical Society Photo by Jamie Kremm, LTHS, 2003. For information on the 175th Anniversary Celebration in 2005 and for Illinois River in 1848. The I&M closed when membership and program information, contact Bonnie Packley at (815) DEEP WATERWAY, LOCKPORT 838-9388 or write to LAGHS c/o Des Plaines Valley Public Library, 121 the Illinois Waterway E. 8th Street, Lockport, IL 60441. Web site courtesy of the Des Plaines opened in 1933. Valley Public Library at www.dpvlib.org FLASHBACK: ______DEEP WATERWAY © 2004 The Sanitary & Ship Will County Historical Society CanalSfrom Chicago to Rose Bucciferro, Executive Director LockportSends at the Lockport Area Genealogical & Historical Society power house and the Dr. Reno G. Caneva, President locks built in 1907 and Preserving Our Past is Our ‘Present’ to the Future in 1933. For info on ______history and public Passport to Lockport prepared by Char Giardina, Rose Bucciferro and access, call the Will Judith Richardson. Special thanks to John Lamb. Lesson plan prepared by County Historical Audrey Manley, curriculum consultant. Society at: (815) 838-5080. Courtesy of Lewis U. Canal & Regional History Special Collection 13 My Page Welcome Students, Residents and Visitors

This guide is an introduction to the town and its people—past and present.

There are many ways to use the Passport and to commemorate your visit.

O Ask someone at the site to autograph your booklet or use a stamp imprint.

O You can place your own photographs, sketches and comments on pages titled My Page.

O A teacher’s LESSON PLAN is available. ~ Passport to Lockport commemorates the 175th Anniversary of the first permanent settlement in the area in October 1830 and documents your personal experience in Lockport, City of Historic Pride. ~

Compliments of Lockport Area Genealogical & Historical Society and the Will County Historical Society

12 CENTRAL SQUARE NORTON BUILDING Illinois State Museum Lockport Gallery

201 W. 10th Street South Public Landing Parking Lot entrance at 10th St. or at 9th St./west approach only.

(815) 838-7400 Tues. 10-5; Sun. Noon -5

NOW: Exhibits featuring Illinois artists change Photo by Jeff Williamson, Kelvin Grove Jr.H. throughout the year. Call about school programs, public programs, events and volunteer opportunities.

THEN: Hiram Norton built a grain warehouse and store for canal boat supplies (1848- 1852). Norton operated the hydraulic basin where grain and lumber were processed. See the sign at the footbridge on the canal trail south of the building. Norton Building in 1869 FLASHBACK: Norton was one of several businessmen who moved to Lockport from the east coast and Canada on the promise that the canal would bring prosperity.

My Observations

222 E. 9th Street (between Hamilton and Washington) City of Lockport (815) 838-9500 Lockport Township (815) 838-0380 Lockport Township Park District facility (815) 838-1183

2 11 GAYLORD BUILDING GLADYS FOX MUSEUM AND COMMUNITY CENTER

200 W. 8th Street Corner of 9th & Washington (Across the R.R. (Opposite Central Square) tracks on the bank of the I&M Canal) Lockport Township Park District (815) 588-1100 (815) 838-1183 Tues.-Sat. 10-6

Photo by Sarah Costello, Kelvin Grove Junior High Sun. Noon-6 Call for hours of operation.

NOW: There are three floors of canal-related exhibits. For NOW: Exhibits change periodically. Photo by Lindsay Major, LTHS information, call the Canal Corridor Association. For information on There is a permanent exhibit on The Public Landing Restaurant, call (815) 838-6500. Dellwood Park, a famous amusement park in the early 1900s and still a favorite place for recreation in Lockport. The building may be reserved THEN: Bordering the I&M Canal, the appearance and use of the for meetings and various functions. Gaylord Building changed over time as the canal prospered, then declined, and finally was restored. THEN: Built in 1839, the church was originally the Congregational Church. It is the oldest masonry church in Illinois. FLASHBACK– Gaylord Building Time Line FLASHBACK: The church was an important part of the community. 1838-1848: Canal Construction Warehouse. Many members worked on the I&M Canal, constructed 1836 -1848.

1848-late 1880s: Grain elevator and CENTRAL SQUARE general store. NOW: Central Square has been home to city and township offices since 1900s: Door lock 1980. The hallways are filled with photographs, some of which include manufacturing, students who attended school in the building. The fountain in front of the plumbing building was installed in 2003 as part of a beautification project. supplies, and storage. Gaylord Building in the late 1880s THEN: The building was constructed in 1895. High school students moved to a new building in 1910, and grade school students moved to 1987-Present: Milne Grove in 1967. Concerned citizens saved this striking limestone Restored for public use as a canal information and history center. structure from destruction in 1980. FLASHBACK: The first limestone school house, built on this site in 10 1857, burned in the great Lockport fire of August 10, 1895. 3 My Page HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SHOPPING DISTRICT

Photo by Sarah Costello, Kelvin Grove Junior High School. NOW: Visit the restored buildings offering business services, shopping, and good food! Mark your calendar for the Christmas Walk and Fun Fair on the first Saturday in December. Call the Chamber of Commerce at 838-3357. Also: Pioneer Christmas on the first Thursday in December, an evening program at the Wells Corner One-Room School House. Call the Will County Historical Society at 838-5080.

THEN: Archer Road (now Archer Ave./Rte. 171/State St.) was built to transport materials during construction of the I&M Canal (1836-1848). FLASHBACK: The original business district had grown up along Commerce Street next to the public landing on the bank of the canal. When two railroad lines began operating next to the street, the area became too noisy, dirty and dangerous to serve as a business district.

Old Baptist Church (Corner of 10th & Hamilton) The structure was originally the Baptist Church, constructed in the 1850s. The Lockport Woman’s Club started the first library in Lockport in Photo by Lindsey Major, LTHS this building in 1921. Ice cream parlors have occupied the building for the last several years. 4 9 My Page ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CANAL MUSEUM

803 S. State Street

(815) 838-5080

Daily 1-4:30 Closed Mondays in Jan., Feb., Mar.

Call for holiday schedules.

NOW: The Will County Historical Society’s award-winning museum is the original office and home of the canal commissioners. Costumed docents guide visitors through the rooms and share the story of the lives and times of the construction and operation of the I&M Canal and county history. Reservations are taken for group tours. A County Landmark Patch program is available.

THEN: Built in 1837 the Canal Commissioners Office was the most important building in Illinois, except for the State Capitol Building in Springfield. From this location Chief Engineer William Gooding oversaw the construction and operation of the I&M Canal.

PIONEER SETTLEMENT

FLASHBACK: 15 Buildings of the 19th Century Log Cabin/Train Depot 1-Room School House and more Craft festival days in Apr., Jun. and Oct. Holiday program in Dec. 5 8 A View from the 9th Street Bridge

Photo by John Voss