A Brief History of Lemont

Even before white settlers came to Lemont, Native Americans traveled the Des Plaines River in birch bark canoes on trading trips between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan. The native Potowatomi lived off the land in this area, directly using natural resources for food, shelter, clothing and medicine. In the 1700s, French voyageurs traveled down the Des Plaines River, trading Native Americans metal, beads and cloth for animal furs and changing the Native American lifestyle forever.

Established in 1835, the Village of Lemont stands as one of the oldest American communities in northeastern Illinois. It's historically significant for its role in transforming the northern region of the state from a sparsely settled frontier to a commercial, agricultural, and industrial region that supplied Chicago and areas beyond with commodities. Lemont is also unique in boasting an authentic historic district that remains intact and has been continually used since the 1800s.

Both Lemont's history and architectural uniqueness connects to the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal. Construction of the I&M began in 1837 and stands as the last major canal undertaking in the United States. When it was completed in 1848, it provided a continuous waterway stretching from New York (through the Erie Canal, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan to Chicago, then through the I & M for 97 miles entering the Illinois River at La Salle, Illinois, to the Mississippi River, to New Orleans) to the Gulf of Mexico.

Immigrant workers, mostly Irish, settled in Lemont to work on the canal and later moved along the corridor of the canal, improving farms within the many communities that sprang up along.

In digging, workers discovered Lemont yellow dolomite, a harder and finer grained version of limestone. It delayed digging on the canal but was the start of the area's second industry, quarrying. By the mid-1800s, limestone quarrying took over as the main economic factor in Lemont and sustained its growth. The town's important major buildings were faced with the Lamont limestone abundant in local quarries. Today, 38 of those buildings remain as the Lemont downtown district. Lemont limestone was used in the Chicago Water Tower, the only commercial structure to survive the Chicago Fire of 1871.

Cargo and passengers were transported on the I&M until the early 1900s, when the wider, deeper Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was built parallel to it. The Sanitary Canal is still used today as part of the Illinois Waterway System.

Lemont's motto is "Village of Faith" and its church spires reflect the many ethnic groups who came here to quarry stone, dig the Sanitary and Ship Canal and work in other industries.

Lemont is credited with being the largest recruiting station for the Union Army during the Civil War and The Old Stone Church, built in 1861 of limestone, was used as a recruiting depot. It served as the Lemont Methodist Episcopal church for 100 years, from 1861 until 1970 when it became home to the Lemont Area Historical Society. The oldest building in Lemont, it now serves as a museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During the Civil War, Lemont was required to sign up 33 soldiers, the village recruited 293 soldiers; only 63 returned. A Lemont Civil War Memorial Committee has formed to build a statue in Memorial Park to honor Lemont's Civil War.

By 1854, railroads transported goods faster than water and the I&M became obsolete as Lemont evolved into a railroad community. Increasingly, the Canal was used to carry wastes away from Chicago. In 1900, the larger Sanitary and Ship Canal went into operation, carrying both wastes and larger, more modern barges. All use of the I&M Canal ended in 1933, with the opening of the Canal's modern successor - the Illinois Waterway.

By about 1920, the quarries declined as builders began to use more durable Bedford limestone from Indiana and less expensive new materials like concrete.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation establishing the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor as the nation's first National Heritage Corridor. The status recognizes the historic importance of this region and the waterway that connected Lake Michigan and the Illinois River. Today, it is a 100-mile long cultural park between Chicago and LaSalle/Peru, representing an on-going partnership between the public and private sectors created to achieve a successful mixture of preservation, public use and industrial activity.