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The Wikipedia page for Kankakee River State Park had but one cryptic clue as to the origins of these lonely piers located near the Chippewa Campground: "hand-cut limestone pillars mark where a railway bridge was to have been built for the railroad before financiers ran out of money."
The railroad was to be known as the Decatur & State Line Railway. The line was chartered in 1869, when construction over the Kankakee River, including the bridge piers, began, but the project quickly lost its financial backing partly because of the Great Chicago Fire.
Had it been constructed, the route would have run through Bellflower, Farmer City, Saybrook, Chatsworth, Wilton Center, and Frankfort, among other towns, before connecting with the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific. The 1870s was a tumultuous time for the railroad industry, as it was the 2nd largest employer in the United States, behind only the agricultural industry. The rapid build-up of the railroad network of the past few decades continued, and in fact became much more speculative, as wannabe railroad tycoons proposed routes and sold stocks in many railroad proposals that simply couldn't become viable assets, as many nearby competitors existed, or were in the process of being constructed.Related Tags
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July 2, 2021
