Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park
| Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park | |
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IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
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Hennepin Canal Lock #1 on February 13, 2004. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources claims that this lock has been under water since the 1930s.
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| Location | Rock Island, Bureau, Henry, Lee, and Whiteside Counties, Illinois, USA |
| Nearest city | Sheffield, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°22′44″N 89°41′29″W / 41.37889°N 89.69139°WCoordinates: 41°22′44″N 89°41′29″W / 41.37889°N 89.69139°W |
| Length | Main canal length: 75.2 miles (121.0 km); feeder canal length: 29.3 miles (47.2 km) |
| Established | August 1, 1970 |
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Hennepin Canal Historic District
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| Built | 1890 – 1907 |
| Architect | U.S. Corps of Engineers |
| NRHP Reference # | 78003433 |
| Added to NRHP | May 22, 1978 |
| http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/R1/HENNPIN.HTM | |
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, also just called the Hennepin Canal, is an abandoned waterway in northwest Illinois, between the Mississippi River at Rock Island and the Illinois River near Hennepin. The entire canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Opened in 1907, the canal was soon abandoned because of railroad competition. It was resurrected in the late 20th century as a recreational waterway. Its former name was the Illinois and Mississippi Canal. The main canal length is 75.2 miles (121.0 km), and its feeder canal is 29.3 miles (47.2 km) long. The state park spans five counties (Rock Island, Bureau, Henry, Lee and Whiteside) and is 104.5 miles (168.2 km) long.
The Hennepin canal was first conceived in 1834 as a connection between the Illinois and Mississippi River, but financial problems in the state delayed many public works projects. Pressure for transportation that was cheaper than rail convinced Congress to authorize preliminary surveys on the project in 1871. Construction began in 1892 and the first boat went through in 1907, reducing the distance from Chicago to Rock Island by 419 miles (674 km). While the canal was under construction, however, the Corps of Engineers undertook a widening of the locks on both the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. The new locks on those rivers were twenty and forty feet wider than the canal locks, making them obsolete before their initial use.
In the 1930s the Hennepin Canal was used primarily for recreational traffic. The Hennepin Canal, which at one time was known as the Illinois and Mississippi Canal, was open to boat traffic until 1951 at no cost. Ice made from the canal's frozen waters was sold during the winters to help pay the canal's maintenance costs.
The Hennepin was the first American canal built of concrete without stone cut facings. Although the Hennepin enjoyed only limited success as a waterway, engineering innovations used in its construction were a bonus to the construction industry. The canal was used as a training ground for engineers that later worked on the Panama Canal. Both the Hennepin and Panama Canals used concrete lock chambers and both used a feeder canal from a man made lake to water the canals because both needed water to flow ‘uphill.’
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Wikipedia