A 21-mile recreation and nature trail in northeastern Illinois
 
 

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OPRT Awards

AISC Modern Steel Award
Excellence in Structural Engineering Design

Canals

I & M Canal - A Corridor in Time - Lewis University
Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor (National Park Service)

I&M Canal Corridor Association

Civic Center Authority - 12 towns from Lyons to Lemont
Heritage Corridor Convention & Visitors Bureau

National Canal Museum
New York State Canal System
The Erie Canal History
Indiana Canal Map

City, County & State sites

Cook County
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Frankfort
Frankfort Country Market
Joliet
Matteson
New Lenox
Park Forest
Rich Township
Richton Park
Tinley Park
Will County

Forest Preserve District of Will County
State of Illinois

Bicycling, Walking & Hiking

Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
Folks on Spokes Bicycle Club
Joliet Bicycle Club
League of Illinois Bicyclists

General information

Lincoln Net - South Metropolitan Regional Area
Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau

Historical museums & libraries

Matteson Historical Museum
Illinois State Museum
Illinois State Historical Society
Library of Congress
New Lenox Public Library
New York State Archive Canal Records
Park Forest Library
Park Forest: A Planned Community, online images
Park Forest Historical Society
University of Michigan Lincoln Highway Digital Image Collection

Railroads

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
A Brief History of Conrail
The New York Central
Penn Central Railroad
Indiana Railfans
Illinois Railway Museum
National Railway Historical Society
Burlington Route Historical Society
Mid-Continent Railway
Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society
Chicago Transit and Railfan Website
Shore Line Interurban Historical Society

Roads

Lincoln Highway Association
Lincoln Highway Association - Illinois Chapter
Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor

FHWA "America's Byway"

Tall grass prairie

Flora List - OPRT between Central and Ridgeland
Ken Robertson- Illinois Natural History Survey
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Central Park Wetland Restoration - Park Forest
Northern Wildlife Prairie Research Center
USDA Natural Research Conservation Service

Trails

Bicycle Trails in Illinois - League of Illinois Bicyclists
American Discovery Trail: Illinois
IDOT Bicycling: Recreational Trails: Alphabetical Listing
Midwest Rail Trails
Rails To Trails Conservancy
Active Living Resource Center

Interesting historical document links

Illinois railroads reach Galesburg, Illinois in 1866
Illinois, Chicago & Michigan in 1860
Chicago in 1868
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 











 

   
       
             
     

 

 
       
       
       
             
     

Bibliography

  • "Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State, WPA American Guide Series." Oxford University Press: New York 1941, 1956
  • Corliss, Carlton J. "Trails to Rails: A Story of Transportation Progress in Illinois." Eileen Smith Cunningham Reprints: Carrollton, Illinois 1956
  • Corliss, Carlton J. "Mainline of Mid-America: The Story of the Illinois Central. Creative Age Press: New York 1950
  • Hadfield, Charles. "The Canal Age." Frederick A. Praeger: New York 1969
  • Havighurst, Walter. "The Heartland: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois." Harper & Row: New York 1956, 1962
  • Hornung, Clarence P. "Wheels Across America: A pictorial cavalcade illustrating the early development of transportation." A. S. Barnes: New York 1959
  • Jensen, Oliver. "History of Railroads in America." American Heritage Publishing: New York 1975
  • Landis, Charles K. "Rails Over the Horizon." Stackpole Sons: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1938
  • Laut, Agnes C. "The Romance of the Rails: The Story of the American Railroads." Tudor Publishing Company: 1936 (first published in August, 1929 by Robert M. McBride & Company).
  • Linklater, Andro. "Measuring America: How an Untamed Widerness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise of Democracy." Walker & Co.: New York 2002
  • Molony, Bill. "A Brief Cronology of the Joliet Cut-Off: 1849 to 1997." 1997: Will County Historical Society
  • Molony, Bill. "Documents Relating to the Organization of the Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad Company." Self-published photocopy document.
  • Overton, Richard C. "Burlington Route: A History of the Burlington Lines." Alfred A. Knopf: New York. 1965
  • Quaife, Milo M. "Chicago's Higways Old and New: From Indian Trail to Motor Road." D. F. Keller & Company: Chicago 1923
  • Rockland, Michael Aaron (translator). "Sarmiento's Travels in the United States in 1847." Princeton University Press: Princeton 1970
  • Sterling, Robert E. "A Pictorial History of Will County: Volume II." Will County Historical Publications Company: Joliet, Illinois 1976
  • White, Jr., John H. "Horsecars, Cable Cars and Omnibuses." Dover Publications: New York 1974
  • White, Jr., John H. "A History of the American Locomotive: Its Development: 1830-1880." Dover Publications: New York 1968
  • White, Jr., John H. "Early American Locomotives." Dover Publications: New York 1972
 
 

Books

the history pages of this website ARE based on these books and publications

   
       
       
       
       
             
     

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