Today, the topic is the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
I live about an hour away from this designated National Historic Landmark -- yet I was completely ignorant. It's hard to believe I NEVER HEARD OF IT BEFORE last Wednesday.
But -- hey -- here we go...
The canal was built as a waterway to give agricultural goods access to Eastern markets. It connected the Mississippi Basin to the Great Lakes Basin...and, in large measure, the canal is credited with creating markets for farmers.
The canal is actually the reason Chicago flourished, and became the second largest city in America.
AND, as a matter of fact, because the Northern politicians knew the Canal was coming, they quickly moved to make Illinois a (free) State -- even though it did not, at the time, meet the population requirement.
I think IT IS PATHETIC THAT I DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF THIS...
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| The canal was in use from 1836 until 1933...and you can STILL take a ride on one of the Canal boats... |
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| Which was then (and is now) -- pulled by mules. (see the path on the right side of the photo.) |
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| Your passage would cost $4, and it would take about 22 hours to make the trip. |
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| It took ten years, and cost over $6 million to build. |
There is SO MUCH TO LEARN...and if you want to read more about it -- check out the Wikipedia page....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_and_Michigan_Canal
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