Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ...9th, 1836, the legislature passed an "act for the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal," and ordered an issue of stock to the value of half a million dollars, for the payment of which the faith of the state was irrevocably pledged. It was also provided in the act that "the commissioners shall select such places on the eanal route as may be eligible for town sites, and cause them to be laid off into town lots, including the canal lands in or near Chicago." The revenue from the canal when completed and that from the sale of the lands granted by Congress was also pledged for the payment of the interest on the stock, and for the reimbursement of the principal.8 FINANCING THE WORK The commissioners appointed were William F. Thornton, Gurdon S. Hubbard, and William B. Archer. They determined, on the advice of the chief engineer, William Gooding, to adopt the plan of a lake-fed canal sixty-feet wide at the water level, thirty-six feet wide at the bottom, and having a minimum depth of six feet of water.9 Gooding had been formerly an engineer on the Erie Canal, completed in 1825, which had a depth of only four feet, and convinced the commissioners that New York had made a mistake in constructing a canal inadequate to its rapidly growing traffic. The first plan under consideration had provided for a depth of four feet, and the commissioners adopted the plan of a six foot cannl, as advised by engineer Gooding, 0 J. W. Putnam. "Journal of Political Economy," 1909, p. 273. 7 The act of Congress, passed March 30, 1822, had granted to the state, for the purpose of opening a canal "to connect the Illinois river with Lake Michigan," a strip containing "ninety feet of land on each side of said canal," for the use of the state in building a...
