Editing LaSalle, Illinois (section)

==History==
LaSalle was named in honor of the early French explorer [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de LaSalle|Robert de LaSalle]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Illinois Central Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3WI3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PT48|year=1922|publisher=Illinois Central Railroad Company|page=43}}</ref>

===Canal port (1836–1933)===
[[File:Lasallecanalboat1.jpg|left|thumb|''[[The Volunteer (canal boat)|The Volunteer]]'', an 1848 replica canal boat on the [[Illinois and Michigan Canal]] at LaSalle, Illinois.]]
The [[Illinois and Michigan Canal]] was first thought up by French explorer Louis Joliet. Much later, when Illinois became a state, the idea of a canal connecting [[Lake Michigan]] to the [[Illinois River]] was supported by many, including [[Abraham Lincoln]]. The 96-mile canal was finally constructed between 1836 and 1848. Upon its completion, [[Chicago]] became the eastern terminus and LaSalle became the western terminus. LaSalle boomed as a transshipment point from canal boats coming from Chicago to steamboats going to [[St. Louis]] and [[New Orleans]]. It became a place where Northern and Southern culture met.

It is difficult to imagine the level of frenzied activity that once took place at locks 14 and 15, where the canal boat basin and the steamboat basins were located. [[Steamboat#Mississippi and Missouri river traffic|Steamboats]] from New Orleans unloaded molasses, sugar, coffee, and fresh oranges and lemons. [[The Volunteer (canal boat)|Canal boats]] from Chicago brought lumber, stoves, wagons, and the latest clothing styles from the east. Local farmers hauled corn and wheat to be shipped to Chicago and points east. Passengers hustled to make connections to canal boats bound for Chicago or steamboats headed to St. Louis and beyond. Hotels and other services were available to travelers. Many stores grew catering to canal trade.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iandmcanal.org/images/roadmap2-canal_story.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-02-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206063605/http://www.iandmcanal.org/images/roadmap2-canal_story.pdf |archive-date=2015-02-06 }}</ref>

Today the story can be told at the La Salle Canal Boat, ''[[The Volunteer (canal boat)|the Volunteer]]''.

===Zinc City (1858–1978)===
[[File:Hegeler-Carus Mansion (8765254143).jpg|left|thumb|The [[Hegeler Carus Mansion|Hegeler-Carus Mansion]] in LaSalle]]
By the mid-1850s, LaSalle had begun to exploit the [[coal]] that lay underneath much of the city. The LaSalle Coal Mining Company completed the first [[shaft mining|shaft]] in 1856 and many other companies soon followed. By 1884 there were six shafts in the area, the deepest 452 feet. The history of LaSalle would have been different were it not for the arrival of two immigrants in 1858. [[Frederick William Matthiessen]] met German born [[Edward C. Hegeler]] at a prestigious mining school, and after graduating in 1856, the two traveled together to the United States. In 1858, attracted by the abundance of coal, coupled with the excellent transportation links provided by the canal and the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], they chose LaSalle as the site for an innovative [[zinc smelting]] plant, the first in the United States. Before the plant opened, nearly all of the zinc used in the United States was imported. Zinc is needed to make brass and was a common fire-proofing material. Most significantly, [[galvanizing|zinc was used to prevent corrosion of iron and steel]]. With the opening of the first steel production plant in Joliet in the early 1870s, zinc became an important part of the local industrial economy. In a decade the Matthiessen and Hegeler Zinc Works became the largest producer of zinc in the country, and one of the largest in the world.

The Matthiessens, Hegelers and their families were involved in developing the community. They helped found industries such as the LaSalle Machine and Tool Company and the Western Clock Co. that would later become [[Westclox]]. Mary Hegeler married Dr. [[Paul Carus]], who founded the [[Open Court Publishing Company]] in 1887, whose mission was "establishing ethics and religion upon a scientific basis" and was a key figure in introducing Eastern thought to the United States, making LaSalle "Buddhism's Gateway to the West." Matthiessen was a philanthropist, who served as Mayor of LaSalle from 1886 to 1895. He gave thousands of dollars to help build the sewer system, the electric light plant and roads and bridges. As the first president of the [[LaSalle-Peru High School]] Board, he was a generous donor to the school. In 1914, Matthiessen established the Hygienic Institute to combat epidemics. A public benefactor, Matthiessen opened much of his estate, called Deer Park, to the public with the nominal entrance fee going to charity. In 1943, this property was named [[Matthiessen State Park]] in his honor. On the day of his funeral in February 1918, the entire community suspended all business between 11 and 12 o’clock.

Today, this story is told at the [[Hegeler-Carus Mansion]].

===Little Reno (1933–1953)===
With the end of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] in 1933, saloons no longer operated under the euphemism of "soft drink" vendors, and these and related gambling concerns flourished. Although illegal, gambling proliferated in LaSalle, supporting the abundant and related tobacco, liquor, food, and lodging businesses.

Travelers arrived by car or via the [[Rock Island Rockets (1937)|Rock Island Rocket]] from Chicago for a Saturday night's revelry in such numbers that the streets of LaSalle are said to have been standing-room only. There was wall to wall entertainment along First Street, at the heart of which was the Kelly and Cawley liquor and gambling house. LaSalle became known as "Little Reno" and boasted dozens of clubs. With between 60 and 80 saloons in LaSalle from 1940 to 1950 this continued to be the town's primary commercial enterprise. In 1953 a federal raid on Kelly and Cawley's ended the era.

===Largest employers===
The following businesses have more than 100 people staffed, making them the six largest in LaSalle:<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.lasalle-il.gov/contentfiles/635e5d57-a062-4160-8d6f-a9d0038dfa2e.pdf |title=Comprehensive State of the City |access-date=2014-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714192318/http://www.lasalle-il.gov/contentfiles/635e5d57-a062-4160-8d6f-a9d0038dfa2e.pdf |archive-date=2014-07-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

* J.C. Whitney 313
* Carus Chemical 264
* Illinois Veteran's Home 200
* [[LaSalle-Peru Township High School]] 180
* Illinois Cement Company 148
* News-Tribune 101