Bank of Chicago Illinois & Michigan Canal Bond $1 - 1839

Beautiful $1 promissory note from the Branch State Bank of Chicago issued in 1839. This historic document has an ornate border around it with a vignette depicting harbor scene with squarerigged ship and several smaller sailboats, a fort is visible on shore. This item has the signature of the Company's President, W. F. Thornton and Acting Com., Jacob ? and is over 169 years old. Cross cut cancellation.


Certificate Vignette

The note was made payable to John Alexander McClernand, Treasurer of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Lockport, IL, May 1, 1839. Endorsed on the back by John Alexander McClernand.

This was a bond issued by the state of Illinois to help fund construction of the commercial waterway linking Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle, Illinois, on the Illinois River. Construction began in 1836 and was completed in 1848, allowing boat transportation from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The canal enabled navigation across the Chicago Portage and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, opening before railroads were laid in the area. It ceased transportation operations in 1933. A fascinating piece of American history.