La Salle or LaSalle is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Interstates 39 and 80. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Originally platted in 1837 over one square mile (2.6 square kilometers), the city's boundaries have grown to 12 sq mi (31 km). Named in honor of 17th century Illinois valley explorer, the Sieur de La Salle, city boundaries extend from the Illinois River and Illinois and Michigan Canal to a mile north of Interstate 80 and from the city of Peru on the west to the village of North Utica on the east. Starved Rock State Park is located approximately 5 mi (8 km) to the east. The population was 9,582 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,609 at the 2010 census. LaSalle and its twin city, Peru, make up the core of the Illinois Valley. Due to their combined dominance of the zinc processing industry in the early 1900s, they were collectively nicknamed "Zinc City."
- ⭐ Core Definition: LaSalle, Illinois
- LaSalle, Illinois in the context of Illinois and Michigan Canal
- LaSalle, Illinois in the context of Peru, Illinois
LaSalle, Illinois in the context of Illinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It was opened in 1848. Its function was partially replaced by the wider and deeper Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900, and it ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.
Illinois and Michigan Canal Locks and Towpath, a collection of eight engineering structures and segments of the canal between Lockport and LaSalle-Peru, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
View the full Wikipedia page for Illinois and Michigan CanalLaSalle, Illinois in the context of Peru, Illinois
Peru is a city in LaSalle and Bureau counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,896 at the 2020 census, down from 10,295 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Peru and its twin city, LaSalle, make up the core of Illinois Valley.
View the full Wikipedia page for Peru, Illinois