By the 1820s, soldiers at Fort Dearborn had cut a narrow passageway through the sandbar at the river's mouth, to enable their small boats to move through to the lake. With the coming of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, the Corps of Engineers formulated plans for improving the river. William Howard mapped the plan seen here in 1830, including the closure of the original river outlet, the excavation of a new district channel into the lake, and the construction of two piers alongside this channel. In 1833, Congress approved $25,000 for improvements which were completed by 1837.

Creator: F. Harrison Jr., William Howard
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37352)