Editing Illinois and Michigan Canal (section)

===Construction===
[[File:Illinois-michigan-canal.png|thumb|The location and course of the Illinois and Michigan Canal]]

In 1824, [[Samuel D. Lockwood]], one of the first commissioners of the canal, was given the authorization to hire contractors to survey a route for the canal to follow.<ref name="coffin">{{cite book | last = Coffin | first = William | title = Life and Times of Hon. Samuel D. Lockwood | url = https://archive.org/details/cu31924018816870 | publisher = Knight & Leonard Co. | year = 1889 | location = Chicago, IL | page = [https://archive.org/details/cu31924018816870/page/n50 41]}}</ref>

Construction on the canal began in 1836, although it was stopped for several years due to an [[Illinois]] state financial crisis related to the [[Panic of 1837]]. The Canal Commission had a grant of {{convert|284000|acre|ha}} of federal land which it sold at {{convert|1.25|$/acre|$/sqkm}} to finance the construction. Still, money had to be borrowed from [[Eastern United States]] and [[United Kingdom|British]] investors to finish the canal.

Most of the canal work was done by [[Irish people|Irish]] immigrants who [[Navvy|previously worked]] on the [[Erie Canal]]. The work was considered dangerous and many workers died, although no official records exist to indicate how many. The Irish immigrants who toiled to build the canal were often derided as a sub-class and were treated very poorly by other citizens of the city.

The canal was finished in 1848<ref>{{cite web |title=Wards of Chicago in 1900 Part 4—Fifth & Sixth Wards |url=https://chicagology.com/goldenage/wardsofchicagopart4/ |website=chicagology.com |access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref> at a total cost of $6,170,226. Chicago Mayor [[James Hutchinson Woodworth]] presided over the opening ceremony. Pumps were used to draw water to fill the canal near Chicago, which was soon supplemented by water from the [[Calumet Feeder Canal]]. The feeder was supplied by water from the Calumet River and originated in [[Blue Island, Il]]. The [[DuPage River]] provided water farther south. In 1871 the canal was deepened to speed up the current and to improve [[sewage]] disposal.