History blog from Pat Camalliere Books- For Halloween: The Ghosts of the Quarries! October 26, 2023Halloween is almost here! A good time to rell you about the Ghosts of the Quarries! Ghost hunters sometimes describe a phenomenon called the “stone tape theory.” The theory proposes that certain rocks have the ability to imprint—or “record” —energy … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Submarines on the Chicago Sanitary Canal – No kidding! September 18, 2023My last post revealed some amazing information about the building of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. If you missed that post, you can read it here: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal | Pat Camalliere – The Cora Tozzi … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal August 6, 2023In last month’s blog, I spoke about the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and its tremendous importance to not only the Chicago area and Illinois, but to the opening to settlement of the entire United States west of … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Illinois and Michigan Canal Celebrates 175th Anniversary. July 6, 2023In April of 1848, the I & M Canal officially opened. From April of 2023 through March of 2024, the I & M Canal Corridor Association is having a year-long celebration of this event. Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- The Des Plaines River June 6, 2023I get excited when I talk about Lemont’s waterways, because they are so important not only to the growth of Chicago, but to westward expansion across the entire continent. The only place all these important waterways come together is Lemont. … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Train Wreck in Lemont, July 1905 May 9, 2023Last month’s post was about a train wreck in Lemont on the Alton-Chicago Railroad in 1873. Today we continue the subject of train wrecks with the Santa Fe derailment that also occurred in Lemont in 1905. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Lemont Train Wreck: August 16, 1873 April 17, 2023Is history repeating itself? Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Admiral Dewey and the Battle of the Sanitary Canal March 1, 2023The I & M Canal had been a tremendous success in opening up shipping and transportation between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. However, during dry periods the level wasn’t sufficient to float the barges and boats, and during heavy … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Lemont Streetcars – The Joliet and Chicago Electric Line February 19, 2023NewsOn Sunday, February 26, at 2 p.m. I will be speaking at the Lemont Historical Society about the “Lost Town of Sag Bridge.” If you have not already attended this talk, I hope you will come. If you have attended … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- The Ghosts of Sag Bridge January 29, 2023Recently I’ve been speaking at libraries and other local organizations about the history of Sag Bridge, a town that once existed near Archer Avenue, where Route 83 makes a turn from a north-south road to an east-west road. Although it … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- For Halloween: The Ghosts of the Quarries! October 26, 2023
Tag Archives: Lemont
Join Me at A River Thru History Rendezvous September 10 & 11
Those of you who follow this blog are well acquainted by now with the importance of the area’s rivers and waterways to the Chicago area. This weekend you have a unique opportunity to see this history first-hand at A River … Continue reading
Posted in General History, Lemont History
Tagged Chicago, Chicago history, Chicago Rivers, Des Plaines River, Fur trade, Illinois, Lemont, local history, reenactments, voyageurs
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The Chicago Portage and Its Importance
My new book release, The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods, has a number of scenes where the characters travel through the Chicago Portage. It was this arrangement of bodies of water and ground level that was responsible for the City … Continue reading
Posted in General History, Lemont History
Tagged Chicago, Chicago history, Chicago Portage, History, Lake Chicago, Lake Michigan, Lemont, local history, Mount Forest Island, Northern Illinois, Sag Bridge, The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods
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Announcing The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods
I am very excited to announce that The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods is now available for purchase at Amazon! It is also available on Kindle and Kobo now, and soon will be available for Barnes and Noble and iBook. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 1817, American Indians, Chicago, History, Illinois, legendary beast, Lemont, local history, mystery, Northern Illinois, novel, Potawatomi
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Northern Illinois – Travel back to 1817
As The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods nears completion, I’d like to tell you some of the interesting history of the time period of that story—Northern Illinois, 1817. In the story, Cora, an amateur historian, and Nick, a scientist of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 1817, American Indians, Black Partridge Woods, Chicago, Des Plaines River, Des Plaines River Valley, Frontier criminals, Fur trade, History, Illinois Territory, Keepataw Preserve, Lemont, local history, Northern Illinois, Potawatomi
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Early Days, Potawatomi, and Archer Avenue
Did you ever wonder what it was like here before Lemont was settled, before Illinois was a state? Start by imagining you are walking one of the trails in our beautiful forest preserves, but look at what surrounds the trail … Continue reading
Posted in Lemont History
Tagged Archer Avenue, Chicago, History, Illinois, Lemont, local history, Potawatomi, Sag Bridge, St. James at Sag Bridge, Trails, Waterfall Glen
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Maine Coon Cats and Marie Antoinette
The Maine Coon Cat is the only show cat breed that originated in the United States. What does that have to do with Marie Antoinette? The origin of the breed is speculative, but one legend has it that prior to … Continue reading
Banking in the early days of Northern Illinois
Contrary to what one might expect, early settlers of Northern Illinois, beginning in the 1830s, were not all poor. Some left eastern states for expected greater opportunity in Illinois and arrived with sufficient means to purchase land. They brought food, … Continue reading
Posted in Lemont History
Tagged bank failure, bank heist, bank robbery, banking, banks, History, Illinois, Lemont, local history, Northern Illinois, Tom Huston
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Cops and Robbers – Lemont Style
Bank robberies are a serious business, but the robbery of the Clearing State Bank that took place on July 9, 1921, definitely had comic aspects ala Keystone Cops, although in this case Lemont cops got the upper hand in the … Continue reading
Posted in Lemont History
Tagged 1921, bank heist, bank robbery, History, Lemont, Martin Sicks, Michael Geary
2 Comments
History for Halloween – The Ghosts of Sag Bridge
The late 1890s seems to be when ghost activity peaked in the area of Sag Bridge, Illinois, now the northeast corner of Lemont. Many ghostly tales, some well documented, began here. In late December, 1897, a rash of new sightings … Continue reading
Posted in Lemont History
Tagged Ghosts, Halloween, History, Lemont, local history, Sag Bridge, St. James at Sag Bridge
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Prohibition Days In Lemont, Illinois – An Amusing Anecdote
Previous posts have told of both Lemont’s Smokey Row and relations to the Chicago mob. You might say today’s story embellishes on that theme. The story is part of Lemont lore, and likely is essentially true, as the original versions … Continue reading
Posted in Lemont History
Tagged Chicago, History, Lemont, local history, prohibition, raids
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