The Chicago Portage archive is available for download as a single .zip file from here. The archive includes copies of The Chicago Portage Ledger, photographs of the site, and the video "Connected Worlds: The Story of the Chicago Portage.
Furthermore, this December, we are launching a new platform for our unique digital collections.
Please take a moment to preview it and let us know what you think!
The Discovery of Chicago
Bus Tour
Visit the Places Chicago was Born!
Stand Where History Happened!
Saturday September 30, 2023
The tour will begin at 10 a.m. at the monumental statue of Joliet and Marquette in Portage Woods Forest Preserve (4800 S. Harlem Ave.) in Lyons, IL.
Following a brief look at the last remnant of historic Portage Creek, we will board a deluxe air conditioned motor coach to visit the places Jolliet and Marquette carried their birch bark canoes over the old Chicago Portage 350 years ago.
The tour will continue downtown to visit the Centennial Fountain and explore its symbolic portrayal of the Chicago Portage.
We’ll then stop as close as the public can get to the site of DuSable & Kinzie's settlement.
After a lunch break at a food court the tour will follow the development of Chicago with a visit to the hidden site of an early farm and trading post on the South Branch of the Chicago River.
Finally we'll stop at the original terminus of the I&M Canal before returning to Portage Woods Forest Preserve.
The tour will conclude before 3:00 P.M. The cost of the tour is $50 per person ($40 for students) and includes a printed tour booklet with stunning images of how the tour stops looked in early Chicago.
To reserve your seat call 773-590-0710 (8a - 8p only please) or email: gbmechanic@gmail. com.
Seats are limited so reserve your place on this historic voyage of discovery now!
