The Limestone Exhibit

When the I&M Canal was being constructed, the excavators encountered a high quality limestone nearing Lemont which slowed progress in the digging of the canal. This discovery led to the formation of limestone quarries around Lemont and near the Illinois& Michigan canal. These quarries still exist although most of them have filled with spring water.

This quarrying activity continued after the first canal was completed and the Metropolitan Sanitary District (MSD) built the second canal, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the late 1880s and 1890s. Limestone continues to be a trademark of the Lemont area downtown buildings and larger houses, especially the downtown area enhanced by new limestone accents and walls. We hope to bring the history and current condition of the village together as important tourist information.
 

The exhibit at the Lemont Area Historical Society (LAHS) is being renovated to show and interpret the exceptional beauty of the limestone and the importance of it to the buildings in Illinois, especially Chicago. Downtown Lemont has many exceptional buildings that use the limestone, especially along the main north-south Stephen Street. One row of buildings from the old Norton building at the canal up to and including the old Central School could be called “Limestone Row”
 

Another important set of buildings is the original Brown farm along New Avenue just west of town that was once the home of a quarryman and builder of two churches on Lemont Street. Those are the original Methodist-Episcopal church and the Bethany Lutheran church, still being used. The historical museum is the former Methodist church that was built in 1860 and opened in 1861. Another famous family of Lemont, the Walker family, had a quarry east of town and a beautiful home on Main street damaged in the tornado of 1991. It is said by DuPage Forest Preserve District their quarry stone was used for the Water tower on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Also shown are limestone fossils and geological features in samples.

One of Lemont's "Claim to Fame" is its qualty limestone used for buildings. Our museum has recently updated the exhibit in the lower level exhibit area by replacing the old snapshots and black & white photos with current photos in color.

We hope to exhibit many of Lemont's finest examples of limestone construction in individual framed photos alongside examples of buildings that have used our quarried limestone. Some examples of those in Chicago are the Auditorium Theatre, Holy Name Cathedral, and the Watertower on Michigan Avenue.