Old Canal Days Will Offer Three Unique Tours For Visitors

LOCKPORT, IL — Old Canal Days will offer three free unique tour opportunities as part of the four-day festival event on June 6-9, according to a release from the Lockport Chamber of Commerce.

The free event also includes a parade, carnival, artisan market, food trucks, live entertainment, fireworks and more. Guests can also enjoy the Lockport Powerhouse tour, cemetery tours and trolley tours.

The Lockport Powerhouse will be open for tours giving the community a rare chance to learn about the important role it played in the history of the Chicago region while also gaining a behind the scenes look at the facility, the Chamber said. The tours will be held on June 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All ages are welcome for the tour. Sturdy shoes and dress for an industrial setting are strongly recommended. Those interested in attending the tour should park and sign up for a bus ride from Old Canal Days Heritage Village, 303. W. Second St. You can only attend by taking the bus. There is no parking at the Powerhouse.

The Powerhouse sits at the end of the 76-mile Chicago Area Waterway System, where the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects with the Des Plaines River, according to the Chamber. It is considered the oldest hydroelectric plant in Illinois, and the facility has been generating hydroelectricity since 1907.

Cemetery tours will also be held at the historic Lockport Cemetery on June 8, at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on June 9 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The tour will start at the mausoleum on Sixth Street, the Chamber said. Parking is available at Milne Grove School, 565 E. Seventh Street.

The Lockport City Cemetery was laid out by the Illinois & Michigan Canal Commissioners in 1836 and today is one of the oldest and most historic cemeteries in the region, according to the Chamber.

Lastly, guests can also enjoy air-conditioned trolley tours of historic Lockport. The tours will be conducted on June 8 and June 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. with the last tour beginning at 4:30 p.m. each day. The tours will depart every half-hour from Heritage Village. Many stops on the trolley tour feature Lockport historic buildings, still standing homes of prominent residents and churches and spots where significant historical buildings used to stand, according to the Chamber.