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STATE STREET IN LOCKPORT  [1870-1880] This is a 5 x 7 color photograph of a painting by Styx MacDonald [circa 1870-1880]. He was Leon MacDonald's father. This is a view from State Street looking down on the Canal and the DesPlaines River looking west.  The Norton Building is a stone building and still exists in Lockport today.  The Norton Building was used as a grain warehouse and offices for Hiram Norton's grain operation. The other buildings shown in this painting longer exist.   I&M CANAL HEADQUARTERS [1966] This picture of the I&M Canal Headquarters show the two story wing which was added on in 1876 as the residence for the Canal Superintendent.  The iron fence and the stone work are still there today. HIRAM NORTON BUILDING [1870] You can see the grain warehouse on the right with the two arched doorways and the company office and store on the left. A number of wagons came to unload grain inside the warehouse. After several procedures, the grain was eventually sorted, graded according to content and quality, and shipped on the I&M Canal or the railroad (seen on the lower right part of the photo). Lockport Fire [1895] This photograph shows the devastating result of the fire in Lockport, Illinois that burned down the east side of State Street between 9th and 10th Streets and then the Central School before it was finally extinguished.  Click the photo to see the larger image. Sanitary Canal Waste Gates at Lockport [1900] This photo shows the waste gate on the Sanitary Canal at Lockport. The gates were used to control the level of the Sanitary Canal which ran from Chicago to Lockport.  It was designed to take water from Lake Michigan and flush out the Chicago River, transporting the sewage downstream.  The Sanitary Canal was later used for navigation.	CHICAGO SHIP & SANITARY CANAL AT LOCKPORT  [circa 1912] This shows the area north of Lockport around 135th Street, currently in Romeoville, Illinois. This area is where 135th Street meets the Ship & Sanitary Canal.  Pictured are some of the houses there as well as the railroad station for Romeo, next to the I&M Canal.  You can see the bridge over the Sanitary Canal in the distance. NORTON COMPANY [1895] This picture shows the Norton Company in Lockport in 1895.  Shown are a variety of activities that were associated with the hydraulic basin, the principal industrial park of Lockport. Note the flour mill.  The chimney is for the paper board factory. There is also an operation building barrels, most of it driven by water powers. Look in the middle left hand section of the photo and you will see water in the hydraulic basin. Lock#1 in Lockport [1900] This 1900 photo is a view of Lock#1 in Lockport, Illinois looking north.  You can see the lock in the foreground and the upper canal above it.  Also in this photo are the Norton Building and the boats that were at State Yard,  which was between the lock and the Norton Building. Lock# 3 in Lockport [1979] This photo shows Lock #3 in Lockport, Illinois. Taken in 1979, this depicts the lock with no gates, and the water flowing right through the lock. Click on the image for a larger version of the photo. Canoeing in the I&M Canal [1934-1935] This photo shows where the Milne Creek empties into the canal just north of the Gaylord Building as it was in 1934-1935.  Notice the amount of water in the canal at that time.  Click the photo for an enlargement.	NORTON WAREHOUSE [1873] This is a black and white 5 x 7 photo of a lithograph.  This is a view of the Norton Warehouse, grain warehouse and store -- created in 1873.  The I & M Canal can be seen in the background. The Norton Flour Mill [1910] The hydraulic basin in Lockport was built for use with water power, milling flour and making paper board and other products. One of the major flour producers in the state was the Norton Company in Lockport. Norton’s growing enterprise used canal water power for milling and shipped its grain and flour products by way of the canal. The company even built an elevator in Chicago for rail transfer. I&M CANAL [circa 1910] This 1910 photo shows a view of the I&M Canal in Lockport, with the Norton Building and the Saint Dennis Church on the left of the photo.  This provides a good view of the canal where it was 120 feet wide.  In most places it was on 60 feet wide, and six feet deep. Lockport Fire [1895] This photo shows the remains of a building that was burned in the Lockport fire which occurred in August, 1895. Foot Bridge of 12th Street in Lockport, Illinois [1934-1935] This photo shows the foot bridge on 12th Street in Lockport.  The picnic shelter and abutments from the bridge are still standing today.  Note the stone along the canal and the remains of the factories in the hydraulic basin shown on the right side of the photograph.   Lockport Train Depot  [circa 1940]   Lockport Train Depot (photo provided by Gary C. Nelson, & believed to be taken by his father (Grant Nelson) in the 1940's. Our thanks to Gary for providing this photo for use on this web site.
Special thanks . . . to John Lamb, Director I&M Canal Special Collection at Lewis University Library (Lewis University Canal & Regional History Collection), for sharing the photographs in this Lockport Web Photo Collection. (Visit Lewis University Web Site at www.lewisu.edu to view the full Regional History Collection.