History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Part 36

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 875

USA > Illinois > Cook County > History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time > Part 36

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Having thus been able to witness the completion of a work upon which he had been actively engaged for twelve years, Mr. Gooding, soon after the passage of the first boats through the canal, was removed by the Governor, and Edward B. Talcott, his former assistant,

was appointed in his place. In October, however, upon the death of Robert Stuart, the secretary of the board, Mr. Gooding, was appointed to that position. During the fall a large sale of lots took place at Chicago, and a dividend of six per cent was authorized on the princi- pal of the $1,600,000 loan. The amount of canal property was now vested in the board of trustees was 224,965 acres of land and 5.927 town lots, appraised at $2,126,- 355. The main canal from Bridgeport to LaSalle, not including the four miles of river from Bridgeport to Chicago harbor, was ninety-six miles in length, sixty feet wide at the surface, thirty-six feet at the bottom,

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156

HISTORY OF COOK COUNTY.

the summit level. Subsequently the Calumet feeder was entirely abandoned. The capacity of the works was now forty thousand feet per minute. These works were of great utility hereafter, as several dry seasons made the Calumet and Desplaines rivers almost useless as natural feeders. They also were made to serve another purpose. In the summer of 1862 the authorities of the city of Chicago, to and them in their sanitary measures, applied to the board of trustees for the use of one of their lifting wheels, for the purpose of chang- ing the volume of water in the river. and thereby pro- moting better drainage in the city. As during that sea- son there was a sufficiency of water to supply the canal, this was done during certain hours of the day in May, June and July. The cleansing of Chicago River and the all-important question of sanitary safety finally induced the city to move so decidedly in the matter that the original intention of the management to con- struct the canal on the deep-cat plan, hut which had been abandoned on account of poverty, was carried out.

During the war Chicago made a vigorons attempt to have the nation transform the canal into a national water-way, which might float the largest gunboats on their passage from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. Her splendid War Convention held for that purpose, in this city, on June 2, 1863, was attended by five thousand delegates from the States of the north.

There was laid before that assemblage varioos spe- cific plans for the improvement of the canal. The first plan was Executive Committee, second session , to ahan- don the line of the present canal at Lake Joliet, thirty-six miles from Chicago, to slackwater the Desplaines to its junction with the Kankakee, forty-four miles from this city. It was then proposed to follow down the Illinois to its mouth, a distance of two hundred and twenty miles. It also was the intention to construct the canal from Chicago to the Ilinois with a width of one hundred and sixty feet, the sides to be protected with stone walls ten feet high, and the summit level to be cut down to the depth of nine and a half to ten feet to per- mit the supply of water to be drawn direct from the lake ; the canal and river locks to be three hundred and fifty feet long and seventy feet wide, with the depth of water sufficient to pass steamboats and vessels drawing six feet.

The estimate for the cost of this work, made by Messrs. Gooding and Preston, the secretary and engineer of the canal, was $1 3,346,824, divided as follows : Chi- cago to Lockport, distance twenty-nine miles, no locks, but the level to be cut down nine feet. 87.092,700 ; Lockport to LaSalle, distance sixty-seven miles, locks, dains, etc., $4.034,092 ; LaSalle to the Mississippi . River, two hundred and twenty miles, $578,032 ; total, as above.

The next plan proposed was to make the canal one hundred feet wide, the recesses on each mile of length to enable vessels to pass, increasing this width to one hun- dred and sixty feet. It further proposed to obtain the water from the Calumet, Desplaines and Dupage rivers, supplying the deficiency, if there should be any, by pumping from Lake Michigan.

Thus was it that a convention of public-spirited men from every section of the country gave shape to the reforms in the construction of the canal which engineers had seen were necessary ever since the "shallow-cut" plan had, hy poverty, been forced upon the State.

In February, 1865, a legislative act was passed and approved by Governor Oglesby, authorizing the city of Chicago to enter into arrangements with the board

of trustees, with a view to the speedy accomplishment of the work on the deep-cut pian. It was further pro- vided that the canal should not be constructed of less capacity than the plan adopted by the canal commis- sioners in 1836. To assist the city in their work it was enacted that the board of trustees might open the canal later and close it earlier than usual if they did not diminish the season of navigation to less than six months.

Sections four and five were as follows : "The amount expended by the city of Chicago in deepening the Sum- mit Division of the canal according to the plan adopted by the canal commissioners in 1836, shall be a vested lien upon the Illinois & Michigan Canal and its rev- ennes, after the payment of the present canal debt, and the net revenue of the canal shall all hereafter be applied to the payment of the principal and interest of the same expended in accomplishing the object of this act, until the whole amount is reimbursed to the city. Provided the cost shall not exceed two and a half million dollars."

" The State of Illinois may at any time relieve this lien upon the canal and revenue by refunding to the city of Chicago the amount expended in making the contemplated improvements and the interest thereon."

In June, 1865, the common council passed an ordi- nance adopting the plan of the board of public works for cutting down the summit so as to draw from the lake, at a low stage of water, not less than twenty-four thousand feet 'of water per minute. The board were authorized to issue $250,000 in bonds July 1, to aid the work. As a temporary expedient for keeping the South Branch clean the hydraulic works of Bridgeport were to be used. The agreement entered into by the hoard of trustees and the city in 1865 was extended in June, 1868, for an additional period of three years. There were some difficulties to be overcome, as is evidenced by the following extract taken from the report of the canal trustees for the year ending January, 1870. the language used being that of the general superintendent: " The business of the canal has not suffered as seriously from low water in the Illinois River the past season as for several years preceding. There has been nothing to interrupt navigation of the canal or to complain of, except the gross carelessness or negligence of contract- ors engaged in deepening the summit level ; a high stage of water has been kept upon this level during the entire season, sufficient for boats to navigate, being four feet six inches-but obstructions have been placed in the channel of the canal above the present bottom, and have caused considerable damage to boats. Boatmen have been greatly dissatisfied on account of the failure of contractors or the city to adjust these claims. At the present time there is deposited with the board of public works of the city of Chicago quite a number of bills for damages which the contractors refuse to settle, and in fact they have refused to settle any claims which have been presented."

The Common Council having decided to proceed with work under this act, appointed a board of com- missioners to superintend it. By the plan adopted the length of the work to be done was twenty six miles, and the canal was to be cut down nine and a half or ten feet below ordinary lake level. Operations began at Bridge- port and terminated at Lock No. 2 at the summit. From Chicago westwardly the canal had an inclination downward of one-tenth of one foot per mile

The work was let to various parties on the 26th of September, 1865, but they having abandoned or for- feited their contracts the work was relet in July. 1867-

As bearing upon the increasing usefulness of the

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157

THE ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN CANAL ..

canal the fact should be stated that the Illinois River was being greatly improved in 1869, for the purposes of navigation, by the construction of a dam and steamboat lock at Henry, some forty miles below the western ter- minus of the canal. It was the design to make good navigation as far down the river as Peoria, and, as the Illinois was one of the most important feeders of the canal, the improvement would very materially increase its receipts.

In May and November, 1870, a contract was author- ized to be entered into with Adam Smith of Chicago, for the lease of a portion of the ninety-foot strip of land an hoth sides of the canal, which, by the act of 1822, was to be forever reserved from any sale to he made by the United States. The effect of this provision had been to interpose between the margin of the canal and the owners or abuttors thereon this contiguous strip, thereby cutting off all direct communication with the canal, unless some plan should be adopted hy which the diffi- culty could be obviated. This had been done by leas. ing the strip, the preference being always given to the owner of the adjoining land. These leases, commencing in 1848, with the opening of the canal, had heen made generally at nominal rates for a period of twenty years, and sometimes with a provision for renewal, the object heing to accommodate the lessees and to provide facil- ities for them in conducting their various pursuits. The lease with Mr. Smith was of a more extensive character than any heretofore given, and also bound him to com- plete certain improvements. The lease covered the strip for nearly six miles west of the South Branch of the Chicago River, and the contract stipulated that the lessee should widen the canal for this distance, within ten years, to a width of not less than one hundred and forty feet and deepen it ten feet ; substantial docks to be built and the whole work to be finished at the sole cost of the lessee, although executed under the supervision of the general superintendent of the canal.

The final report of the Board of Trustees was issued for the financial year between December 1, 1870, and the 16th of August, 1871. They reported that the whole amount of money received by the Board of Trustees from June 20, 1845, to April 30, 1871, had been $11,009,507.41 ; the vouchers audited, $10,913,765.00, leaving a balance in the hands of the treasurer on April 30, of $95,742.41. The canal sales had been very small for many years. The amount of notes remain- ing unpaid on account of lands and lots previously sold was $4,135 on the ist of May, 1871. There remained unsold apon that date fourteen tracts of land amounting in all to only two hundred and sixty-three acres. The whole amount of registered canal bonds paid by the trustees from January, 1854, to August 16, 1871, prin- cipal and interest and premium on gold, was $4.721,- 950.00.

The Board of Trustees therefore, in pursuance of law, on the ist of May, 1871. passed over the Illinois & Michigan Canal, with all its appurtenances, to the follow- ing board of canal commissioners : Joseph Utley, presi- deut ; Virgil Hickox, treasurer ; and Robert Milne, secretary. No change was made in the general officers of the canal, and the work of cutting down the summit, or deepening the canal, went on. The superintendent of the canal was ordered, in pursuance of a notice given „hy the Chicago board of public works that their work was completed, and that they wished to remove the locks, to close the navigation of the canal for one month from the 15th of June. The canal was closed, how- ever, on June 26, and kept closed until July 18, the labor of removing the locks being greater than antici-

pated. On the morning of the 18th of July the level was full, and the Chicago River with all its filth had taken the place of the heretofore clear water at lock- port, the people of Chicago rejoicing in the great relief furnished hy the deep-cut which caused the South Branch of the Chicago River to run "up stream." Within three or four days the water from Lake Mich- igan filled the canal at Lockport, and was thrown off there over the rocks almost as clear and blue as the waters at the Falls of Niagara. Navigation was at once resumed, but as the banks had not been trimmed and refuse was still lying along the edge of the canal and even in its prism, the commissioners finished the work according to contract, and the city paid for it.

On the 16th of August the old Board of Trustees rendered a supplementary account of over $1,200, being interest received from New York since April 30. This brought the total balance up to $97,007.36. L'pon this day the canal commissioners certified to the correctness of all accounts, and on the 19th of the month the release deed of the canal was transmitted to the Governor.

In May, 1873, there was a change in the board of canal commissioners. Mr. Utley was re-elected presi- dent, but H. G. Anderson was chosen treasurer and W. N. Brainard, secretary. At the same meeting it was resolved that Joseph Utley have special charge of the maintenance and repairs of the Illinois & Michigan Canal and the lock and dam at Henry ; that H. G. Anderson have charge of all moneys received from tolls, sale of lots, rents, etc .; and that W. N. Brainard have charge of the general office at Lockport. The board and the duties of its members remained unchanged until May, 1877, when it was organized by the election of J. O. Grover, president : Martin Kingman, treasurer, and B. F. Shaw, secretary. William Thomas was con- tinued as general superintendent, Daniel C. Jeune as chief engineer, and William Milne as chief clerk.

After reviewing the management of the canal, under the rules of the late board, it was found that some means should be adopted to increase the business. The toll rates were greatly reduced on lumber, salt, iron. etc., with very favorable results.

Previons to the deepening of the Illinois & Mich- igan Canal, Mud Lake comprised several hundred acres of marshy land, lying between the line of the canal and the Desplaines River and extending from Summit east- ward, about three miles, nearly to the West Branch of the Chicago River, As it was a little below the level of the old canal it was being constantly supplied with leakage water. When the "deep-cut " was completed the long-cherished enterprise of the owners of this swamp land to reclaim it was made feasible. During the year 1871 the owners of the land along the line of the West Branch of the Chicago River, and westward to the Desplaines, revived an attempt to widen its channel and to dig a canal connecting the two streams. In 1872 this was accomplished and the waters of the Desplaines were diverted from their natural course, south, into this artificial channel, known as the Ogden-Wentworth "ditch." "The theory of the originators of the " diteh " was that the waters of the Desplaines, especially in times of freshet, would deepen both the canal and the West Branch, and the loosened soil be swept out into Lake Michigan. Dredging was commenced about one mile northeast of Summit and, as completed in 1872, the canal was twenty feet wide at the top, and lay below the bed of the Desplaines River. During the winter and spring of 1872 and 1873, the municipal authorities discovered that the Illinois & Michigan Canal was not cleansing the Chicago River. An investigation was

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HISTORY OF COOK COUNTY

entered into to determine the cause [of this apparent failure, and upon drawing the water from the summit level in November, 1874, it was found that a large quantity of soft alluvial soil in the canal basin at those points, which had evidently come from the towns of Cicero, Riverside and the Mud Lake section, was being drained into the ditch, and through it into the West Branch of the Chicago River and the canal at Bridge- port, portions of it even passing down to Lockport and Joliet. The Ogden-Wentworth canal was furnishing the Illinois & Michigan Canal about all the water it could take away from Bridgeport, to the exclusion of the Chicago River water. Thereby was continued the nuisance of a filthy river, endangering the lives of thet- sands of people. The conclusion was finally reached that a dam should be constructedl across the mouth of the Ogden-Wentworth ditch, shutting out the Des- plaines River. William B. Ogden, the owner of the land at this point, agreed with the city, and in 1877 a low dam was constructed, but it proved of little per- manent benefit.

The subject of cleansing the river, however, was continually agitated, and to settle the matter it was decided by the city to construct pumping works at the junction of the canal and the South Branch.

In March, 1880, the Common Council appropriated $100,000 toward their establishment. Bids were opened in October, but they ranged far above the appropriation, and no award was made. In March, 1881. an addi- tional appropriation was made, and the contract was awarded in August to W. F. Palmer & Co., of New York, The works were completed in August, 1883, at a total cost of about $270,000. They are located across the old channel of the canal, two hundred and sixty-five feet west of the South Branch. To prevent the water from returning into the river a lock has been constructed just east of the junction of the influent channel of the canal with the river.

In November, 1877, the improvement of the lock and dam at Copperas Creek in the Illinois River was accepted by the commissioners, its total cost baving been $410,000. The revenues of the canal and the Henry lock had been diverted to this object. To com- plete the improvement of the Illinois River the caval commissioners suggested that three more locks should be constructed at a cost of $1.300,000-one to be located at Beardstown or a few miles below, one at or near Bedford, and the other about six miles above the month of the river. As stated by the commissioners, "the two dams and locks now constructed complete goud and perfect navigation on the Illinois River for a distance of ninety miles, and by the construction of the three additional locks and dams one hundred and twenty miles of available water-way will be added, which will complete a perfect water route from the lakes to the Mississippi River. This would greatly augment the usefulness of the present improvements, which now, especially in low stages of water, do not render all the advantages contemplated, and leaves the system of im- provements, as at present, in a crude state."

From the last annual report of the canal commis- sioners it is found that the balance on band December 1, 1881, was 845,945.40; receipts, $117,249.08; dis- bursements, $113,071.52, leaving a balance of 850,- 122.96 on December 1, 1882. The following from Will- iam Thomas, the general superintendent, speaks for itself: "'There has been a better stage of water main- tained during the season, and the buildings and canal

property, other than the canal itself, are now in better condition than ever before, and should not again be allowed to get down to where they were in 1877. The construction of the Copperas Creek lock and dam, with the diversion of the revenues of the canal between 1874 and 1877, to the neglect of the necessary repairs on the canal, nearly ruined it for navigation purposes; but I am glad to be able to report symptoms of recovery. Between 1871 and 1877 more than $648,000 was taken from the revenues of the canal and used for other pur- poses, notwithstanding its banks were falling down, its prism filling up, its masonry crumbling to pieces, and its general appearance uninviting. Had a portion of this large sum been spent in its needed repairs, and the balance been set apart for a reserve fund for its future use, if needed, no begging for conditional appro- priations would now be necessary."

The following interesting table of statistics explains itself :

Ordinary Repair,

Extraordinary Repairs,

Krhrwals, and Hy- drauli Work ..

Vear.

Tulle

Canal Opened.

Canal Closed.

Number of Days Open, I

1848 .. $36.452 8 6.744 8 43.197 $ $7.890 April 19 Nov. 29 224

1849 ..

43,922

26,990

58.415

125.504 Mai,

22 Dec.

6 249

1557 ..

39.447

19.017

58.475

173.300 War.

15 Dec. 8 269

1452 . .

42.816

10,6g2'

33.508

173.372 Mar.

14 Dec. 12 274

1854 ..

36.587

16,654

53.242

198.326 Mar. 15 Dec. 2 263

1855 . .

36.216

35.057

70,873

180.519 April

3 Dec. 12 253

1856 ..

33.101

58.357

91.455

154.310 April

& Dec. 4 241

1557 ..

37,256

65.825

103.082

197,830 May

1 Dec. 1,244

1858 ..

36,115

21,972

58.088

197.171 April

132.140 Mar. 10 Ilec. 3 264

1860 ..

34.308

48.275

82.583

138.554' Mar.

5 Nov. 20 264

1861 ..

39.238

15,823

55.001

218.040 Mar.

4 Nov. 28 270

1542 ..

40,024

15.337

55.362

264,657 April

1 Dec. 3 247

1563 ..

48,294

13.021!

62.715

210,386 Mar.

To tec. 1 205

1365 ..

39.255

85,014

124,869

302,958 April

11 Oct. 31,203

1867

46.152

116.504: 162,656

122,052 215,720 April

238,759 April

HOCI. $ 184

1971 ..

54-555

42,667

97,222

88.876

165.874 April

1 Dec. 1 245

1873 . .

53.525

27.573

81,095

166,641 April 10 Nov. 20 225

1874 ..

49.130

24.659

73.798

1.44,831 Mar.

30 Nov. 20 236

18,5

46,241

28,270

74.511

107,081, April

15 Nov. 25,225

1876 . .

42.418

49.167

91.585

96.913 April

16 Dec. 1 230

1878 ..

43.826

39.013

$2,830

84.330, Mar. 20 Dec. 1 257

1879 . . 1880 ..

44.076

53,625

97.701

92,296 Mar.

22 Nov 19 242

1851 . -

53.597

54.626 108,223

85.130;April

25 Nov. 26,216

1882 .-

57.309

45.103 105.412

85.947 Mar.

13 Nov. 30 263

1959 -.

34.026|

40.406

74.432

66,107

156,607 Mar.

300,810 April to Nov. 15 218

43.716

72.647

116,363

252.231 April

LONov. 15 209

+(ct. 31 210

7 Nov, 15 222

43.095

65.597

105,695

149.635 April 150.050 April

6 Nov. 25 234

1872 . .

42.755

46,090

55.053 110,018

113.293 Mar. 25 Nov. 18 239

1877 ..

54.965

60.007

49.514

42.251

91.765

70,922 118,375 April 20 Dec.

9 231

1550 ..

35.418

168.577 Mar. 20 Dec. 8 255

1853 ..

40.383

44.870

The present management of the canal is as follows: Commissioners --- Charles Bent, president, Morrison; George F. Brown, secretary, Morris; D). J. Calligan, treasurer. Peoria; William Thomas, general superin- tendent, and William Milne, chief clerk, Lockport. "The board of commissioners took charge of the canal in April, 1883. There has been no change of any im- portance in the officers or employés of the board dur- ing the season of 1882-83.

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47,604

77.097 125.601

89.064 Mar. 29 Nov. 20237

1 Nov. 20 204

JIbec. 1 271

47.535

18.572

HARBOR AND MARINE.

CHICAGO HARBOR.

Like other works of public utility the improvements and protection of Chicago harhor were accomplished only after many years of experiment and at great ex- pense. The canal and the harbor were twin enterprises. The former would be almost worthless if there were no clear way of exit into Lake Michigan ; and without a good harbor to shelter vessels from the storms which raged over the lake, it was early seen that Chicago could never become a port of entry. Previous to the voyages of Joliet and LaSalle, the accretions which had fallen to the lake bottom as they rested upon the ice piled up in the river's month, added to the natural for- mations caused by the lake currents, had formed a large sandbar, and, at times, blocked navigation .* LaSalle, from his observations in 1682, fails to see how a shallow cut canal could supply navigable water for the Illinois River during the dry season, or if that should be ac- complished, how commerce would be benefited, since even in a rainy reason the surplus water which flowed over the portage from the Desplaines the "Chicago," he calls it,, would not cover the sandbar at the mouth of the channel.t It is reasonable to suppose that all the early travelers noticed and commented upon this im- pediment to navigation, but until Fort Dearborn became one of the most famous of the Government trading-posts no decisive movement was made for the improvement of the river's mouth. In 1805 the agent at the United States Indian Factory, which was established that year, suggested to the Government the necessity of clearing away the obstruction, in a limited way, from the mouth of Chicago River. But his idea of a harbor was just as limited as his dreams of what the location was destined to be. All that was necessary to insure a safe entrance to the river was a narrow ditch, which might permit the easy passage of a Mackinaw boat np to the very door of the trading house ; and, this effected, his conception of improvement was fulfilled. In a few years, however, keen observers traveling over the Western country saw the geographical advantages which this muddy point possessed, and realized and prophesied its future impor- tance. The canal enterprise was therefore not only pressed to public notice, but the ideas of the new gen- eration in regard to a harbor expanded prodigiously. In 1816 came Colonel Long, and he had something to say about the canal and the harbor. During the next year Samuel A. Storrow, Judge Advocate, traveled through the West, and like many another enterprising man since then, visited " Chicago" and talked about it. He admired the wonderful portage which separated the waters of the Great Lakes from the waters of the Great River, and said that the canal should be a matter of na- tional concern, The Judge also described the site of Fort Dearborn, and as all observers were beginning to do with unanimity bewailed the fact that "it had no ad- vantage of harbor, the river itself being always choaked, and frequently barred." Then, in t818, William Darby,

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History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Part 36

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas Number of Pages: 875

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 875