August 28, 2010

By Tony Graf
tgraf@stmedianetwork.com
The Herald News

LOCKPORT, IL -The 150th anniversary of the Lockport train station will be celebrated with a September ceremony hosted by the city and the National Railway Historical Society.

The station, just west of 13th and State streets, is old enough to have been passed by President Lincoln's funeral train in 1865. Today, the station serves commuters on Metra's Heritage Corridor Line, which runs between Chicago and Joliet.

During the upcoming ceremony, the historical society will place the station on the National Register of Historic Railroad Landmarks. The event will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Sept. 18 at the station.

Professor Joseph Schwieterman of DePaul University will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

The station's 1860-2010 history will be commemorated with a plaque from the historical society. The bronze plaque will be placed on the exterior of the station.

The society's Blackhawk Chapter serves Chicago's south and southwest suburbs. Bill Molony of Lockport is the chapter's president.

Place in history

The train station's 1860 opening places it three decades after Lockport's first settlers arrived in 1830.

Preceding the station were landmarks such as the 1830s Illinois & Michigan Canal headquarters, the 1830s Old Congregational Church, the 1838 Gaylord Building, and the 1850 Norton Building, all serving as museums today in downtown Lockport.

I&M Canal construction began in 1836, and the canal opened in 1848. A high school, an early predecessor to today's Central Campus, was built in 1857.

When the train station opened in 1860, James Buchanan was president of the United States. He was succeeded by Lincoln in 1861. Lincoln served until his assassination in 1865. After his death, Lincoln's funeral train passed right by the Gaylord Building, Norton Building and the Lockport train station on the way to Springfield.

Later Lockport landmarks included Central Square, in 1896, and Lockport Township High School, in 1909, among others.