Chicago's Reason For Existing is a Relatively Unknown Canal Which Shutdown in the 1930s

[@jayviolajay]

Hi Tim, it’s Janis! I think your videos are fascinating and I love how informative they are hope you are doing well! 😊

[@loboheeler]

I lived in Summit, which is very close to the waterways mentioned. The Des Plaines river is still very natural there, and even had beavers. The Sanitary and Ship Canal is what it is. There are locks on the end of the Chicago river at Lake Michigan, which you go through in the extended boat tour, and is well worth doing. .

[@Daninater]

Great video, Tim!

[@that1930sguy]

Interestingly, I later also learned that Illinois' politicians were instrumental in blocking, over many decades, repeated efforts to build a multi-national St; Lawrence waterway (around the prohibitive St; Lawrence River rapids between New York and Canada) which would have greatly benefited all the other Great Lake states in providing an alternative route to the Atlantic and avoiding the expenses and bottlenecks of the Chicago canal system. There was a big push by the state of New York to make the St. Lawrence waterway a New Deal project in the mid-1930s, but the Congressional delegation of Illinois was able to rally nearly all the Mississippi River states to block the project. The St Lawrence waterway finally became a reality during the Eisenhower Administration.

[@Daninater]

@@that1930sguy I first heard about the importance of Chicago's waterways and railways in my Canadian history class. It's importance to agricultural trade for Canada. It's really cool to see you modern day on the infrastructure though. I wish I could go metal detecting or magnet fishing around the old canals and see what shows up.

[@mikejanarch]

Chicago history is one of my favorite topics. I'm a life long Minnesotan, but have been visiting Chicago every now and then since the 1960s. I've read much more about the early railroads serving Chicago. Have you found any information on how much shipping (and of what kind) there was on the Illinois and Michigan canal (up until 1933)? Thanks for your 'historic' efforts, and keep it up!