Construction on the Illinois and Mississippi Canal, commonly known as the Hennepin Canal, began in 1892 and was completed in 1907 at a cost of more than seven million dollars. The main canal extended 75 miles from the Illinois River near Hennepin to the Rock River near its juncture with the Mississippi. A feeder canal from the Rock River at Rock Falls joined the main canal 29 miles to the south near Mineral. Use of the Hennepin Canal never reached the expected level because of rapid technological advances in other forms of transportation, and it was closed to traffic in 1951.
