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lockport history

This Is Where Lockport Started...

This 1873 map of Lockport documents our growth.

LOCKPORT, ILLINOIS
- settled 1830 -

NATIONAL TRUST
HISTORIC DISTRICT
- Registered in 1975 -

take a look around town!

Trace the history of Lockport since the discovery by Marquette & Joliet in 1673. Meet Lockport’s founding citizens. View Lockport’s milestones on our Interactive Timeline. Follow the progress of the I&M Canal. See the early industries that spurred growth. Visit our well-preserved Landmarks on our Historic Tour.

Take The Historic District Tour...

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MEET OUR FOUNDERS...

Armstead Runyon

First permanent settler in October 1830. Built his homestead along Fiddyment Creek. Quarried limestone on his property for building the I&M Canal.

Capt'n Holder Sisson

Settled here in 1831, Mr. Sisson was elected captain for the Blackhawk War. Housed the first school and became 1st Cook then Will County Commissioner.

William Gooding

Chief engineer of the I&M Canal. He settled here in 1833. Responsible for the location of Lockport with its great hydraulic turbine power potential.

Hiram Norton

Meet Hiram Norton. His empire - a general store, flour mills and sawmills, and a quarry - had made him the richest man in Will County in the late 1800's.

Tour Lockport's Historic Sites...

Lock No. 1

I&M Canal Lock No. 1 opened in 1848, connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. Lock 1 starts a 40' drop for industrial turbine power.

Norton Building

Completed in 1848, the Norton building served as a granary, grocery and boat stores. Now housing the Illinois State Museum - Lockport Gallery & shops.

I&M Canal Warehouse

Constructed in 1838, this was the original warehouse for canal supplies. Now restored by George Gaylord's family, it's a National Trust site.

I&M Canal Headquarters

Built in 1837, construction of the 96 mile waterway was supervised from this site. Currently the Will County Historical Museum & Research Center.

What's President Lincoln's Connection To Lockport?

As Lincoln Landing Exhibits Explain...

Abraham Lincoln was an early advocate for a canal in Northern Illinois to connect Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. This area, in the 1830’s, needed transportation to spur development and commerce in the State. Lincoln, and his fellow legislators, agreed to the construction of the I&M Canal with Lockport as it’s Headquarters. During his only term as an Illinois Congressman, in 1848, Mr. Lincoln announced the completion and opening of the historic waterway. Lincoln is reported to have traveled through Lockport on the I&M Canal on more than one occasion. His funeral procession traveled though Lockport on the railroad tracks that parallel the canal.

Learn more about our famous connection and others at Lincoln Landing!

FOLLOW Lockport'S timeline

1673 - Marquette & Joliet Discovery Expedition...

Discovered a water route from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan via the Illinois River and the Chicago Portage. The journey passed through the Des Plains River Valley where Lockport is located.