The opening of the Illinois & Michigan Canal in 1848 made Chicago and northern Illinois the key hub of mid-America. Chicago grew into a major metropolis, agricultural and industrial innovations abounded, and Illinois soon became the most populous inland American state, all attributable to the 96-mile canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. By connecting those waterways, the canal made possible a vast all-water route that linked a growing nation. Its significance was recognized in 1984 when President Reagan, native son of Illinois, signed a bill that established the region as the first National Heritage Area.