Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park
The Hennepin Canal State Trail, also just called the Hennepin Canal, is an abandoned waterway in northwest Illinois, between the Mississippi River at Rock Island and the Illinois River near Hennepin. The entire canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
| Hennepin Canal State Trail | |
|---|---|
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature) | |
Hennepin Canal Lock #1 on February 13, 2004. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources claims that this lock has been under water since the 1930s. | |
Location of Hennepin Canal State Trail within Illinois Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park (the United States) | |
| Location | Rock Island, Bureau, Henry, Lee, and Whiteside Counties, Illinois, USA |
| Nearest city | Sheffield, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°22′44″N 89°41′29″W |
| Length | Main canal length: 75.2 miles (121.0 km); feeder canal length: 29.3 miles (47.2 km) |
| Established | August 1, 1970 |
| Governing body | Illinois Department of Natural Resources |
Hennepin Canal Historic District | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Built | 1890 – 1907 |
| Architect | U.S. Corps of Engineers |
| NRHP reference No. | 78003433 |
| Added to NRHP | May 22, 1978 |
| web | |
Opened in 1907, the canal was soon abandoned because of railroad competition. It was resurrected in the late 20th century as a recreational waterway. Its former name was the Illinois and Mississippi Canal. The main canal length is 75.2 miles (121.0 km), and its feeder canal is 29.3 miles (47.2 km) long. The state park spans five counties (Rock Island, Bureau, Henry, Lee and Whiteside) and is 104.5 miles (168.2 km) long.
The Hennepin Canal follows a natural low area between Hennepin and Rock Island. This is actually the ancient channel of the Mississippi River, which at one time flowed from Rock Island to Hennepin, and then south through what is now the Illinois River channel. The Illinoian Stage, about 300,000 to 132,000 years before present day, blocked the Mississippi River near Rock Island, diverting the Mississippi into its modern channel.