Why is Lockport called Lockport?

Editor’s note: Information gathered from an interview with Bill Molony, former project manager with the Will County Historical Society.

Lockport,IL is a town full of very rich history due to its location and proximity to the I and M Canal. Whether you are a history buff or not, there are facts about Lockport that can interest everyone.

As the I and M canal was first being built, Lockport began its rise and commerce street truly was the hub of commerce in the area. 

The canal was where mass transport of goods would happen and is what drove a lot of traffic in and out of the town. Before the canal, the town was rich with agriculture and farming. The canal brought a whole different type of business to the town and brought in people from all over who wanted to ship large quantities of goods from one place to another. 

Due to all the ship traffic, there were “locks” in the canal. Meaning that as ships would come to a port, the bridges would be unlocked and opened, and the ship would go through and it would be locked behind them. The Lockport name originated from here; all the locks along the canal. 

The canal was not the only thing that boomed in Lockport. The railway was chartered in 1856. It was connected from Joliet to Lockport in 1857 and extended to Lemont in 1858. By 1873, they double tracked the railway, expanding its potential. This is the railway just west of State Street. This is part of what put the canal out of business as it was quicker to ride a train than take a boat, however the canal still was used for large shipments of goods. 

Want to know where other places in Lockport got their name? Public Landing got its name because it was just that, a public landing for the people. Most of the area in Lockport along the canal was private property as many boats were part of the private sector. Where public landing is now was the only place that was considered public land at the time.

As you venture into the 1900s, downtown Lockport began to have paved roads and even a Ford Dealership in the 1920s where Lock and Mule is today. 

There is too much history to fit in one place. Stay tuned for another article about some of the tragedies that struck Lockport in the 1800s and mid 1900s.

Haley Galvin, Realtopia Real Estate Marketing/Brand Manager