HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.
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CHICAGO RIVER, a sluggish stream, draining a narrow strip of land between Lake Michigan and the Des Plaines River, the entire watershed drained amounting to some 470 square miles. It is formed by the union of the "North" and the "South Branch," which unite less than a mile and a half from the mouth of the main stream. At an early day the former was known as the "Guarie" and the latter as "Portage River." The total length of the North Branch is about 20 miles, only a small fraction of which is navigable. The South Branch is shorter but offers greater facilities for navigation, being lined along its lower portions with grain-elevators, lumber-yards and manufactories. The Illinois Indians in early days found an easy portage between it and the Des Plaines River. The Chicago River, with its branches, separates Chicago into three divisions, known, respectively, as the "North" the "South" and the "West Divisions." Drawbridges have been erected at the principal street crossings over the river and both branches, and four tunnels, connecting the various divisions of the city, have been constructed under the river bed.
CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILWAY, formed by the consolidation of various lines in 1880. The parent corporation (The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad) was chartered in Illinois in 1851, and the road opened from Chicago to the Mississippi River at Rock Island (181 miles), July 10, 1854. In 1852 a company was chartered under the name of the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad for the extension of the road from the Mississippi to the Missouri River. The two roads were consolidated in 1866 as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and the extension to the Missouri River and a junction with the Union Pacific completed in 1869. The Peoria & Bureau Valley Railroad (an important feeder from Peoria to Bureau Junction - 46.7 miles) was incorporated in 1853, and completed and leased in perpetuity to the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, in 1854. The St. Joseph & Iowa Railroad was purchased in 1889, and the Kansas City & Topeka Railway in 1891. The Company has financial and traffic agreements with the Chicago, Rock Island & Texas Railway, extending from Terral Station, Indian Territory, to Fort Worth, Texas. The road also has connections from Chicago with Peoria; St. Paul and Minneapolis; Omaha and Lincoln (Neb.); Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo (Colo.), besides various points in South Dakota, Iowa and Southwestern Kansas. The extent o
Dundee Area History
