History
Built by the Canal
Named for the famed 17th-century explorer, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, the history of La Salle can be traced back as early as 1830 when one of its first permanent settlers, Samuel Lapsley, drawn by the fertile Midwestern soil, established a farm and built a sawmill along the Little Vermilion River. But in 1836, the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal foreshadowed an industrial and economic boom for the young settlement.
After a long and troubled period of construction marred by disease, financial panic, and strenuous labor conditions, the I&M Canal was completed in 1848. Running from Bridgeport on Chicago’s South Side to La Salle, the canal effectively connected Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River, New York to the Gulf of Mexico — and La Salle to the world. Allowing travelers an alternative means of travel instead of the dusty, muddy, over-land travel of the time, this new passage and its effects on the country drew praise from luminaries such as Abraham Lincoln, who wrote,
“Nothing is so local as not to be of some general benefit. The benefits of an improvement are by no means confined to the particular locality of the improvement itself.”
That’s not to minimize the canal’s impact on La Salle, which saw explosive growth after the canal’s opening, becoming a location where Northern and Southern cultures blended. From an economic standpoint, the canal brought services such as hotels and stores catering to canal trade.
Not all the canal brought proved beneficial, however. Cholera outbreaks in 1849 and 1854 killed 169 and 197, respectively, while the rough-and-rowdy lifestyles of the canal captains and tradesmen brought gambling, fighting, prostitution, and other vices, developing an unsavory reputation for the community. In 1851, residents voted to incorporate La Salle as a city; that same year saw the construction of the Illinois Central Line Galena Branch, a railroad project that, like the canal, was marred by labor disputes and unrest. Completed in 1853, the railroad gave La Salle a further advantage over other cities in the region.
Mining & Philanthropy
Mining also became prevalent in the 1850s, beginning with the La Salle Coal Mining Co. in 1856. In 1858, Danish immigrant named Frederick W. Matthiessen and German immigrant Edward C. Hegeler opened the Matthiessen and Hegeler Zinc Works, which by the mid-1860s became one of the largest producers of zinc in the world.
Both men worked tirelessly to improve the city’s economic well-being beyond their own enterprise. Matthiessen proved instrumental in attracting businesses like the La Salle Machine and Tool Co. and the Western Clock Co. He later served as mayor of the city, during which time he helped build La Salle’s sewer system, electric light plant, and infrastructure. He was also a generous donor to the La Salle-Peru High School, founded the Hygienic Institute in 1914, and opened his estate, Deer Park, to the public — now known as Matthiesen State Park. Hegeler, for his part, hired famed Chicago architect William W. Boyington to construct his estate, the Hegeler Carus Mansion, from which he founded Open Court Press in 1887. Today, the mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as one of the city’s most recognizable historic landmarks. Tours are available Thursday through Sunday 10am – 3pm. Learn more at https://www.hegelercarus.org/.
Little Reno
Later in the 20th century, the city of La Salle developed a whole new reputation. As prohibition ended, saloons became more widespread — as did gambling. Soon, gamblers arriving by car or train from Chicago found themselves reveling in the sights and sounds of First Street. From 1940-1950, an estimated 60-80 saloons operated in La Salle, though none bigger than the Kelly-Cawley Smoke House. Giving La Salle the nickname “Little Reno,” this rambunctious period ended abruptly in 1953 when a federal raid at Kelley-Cawley permanently closed the establishment.