Happy 206th, Abraham Lincoln--the Illinois & Michigan Canal and Abe

Today is the 206th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, America's greatest president. I'm a fifth-generation Illinoisan--and the state is rightly called the Land of Lincoln. The Railsplitter was a strong proponent of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which arguably made Chicago the great city of the Heartland, instead of, perhaps, St. Louis or Cincinnati.

Pictured here is our first Republican president with Mary Todd Lincoln in iron silhouette form, at Lock 16 on the canal at LaSalle. Accompanied by their first two sons, Robert Todd and Edward, the Lincolns were passengers on the canal during the first year of its operation in 1848.

Related posts:

I&M Canal NHC at 30: LaSalle

I&M Canal NHC at 30--an 18 post series