Designed and built by Fred Graue, a German immigrant, together with William Asche, the Old Graue Mill began operating around 1852 and served the village of Brush Hill (Hinsdale) until World War I. Its undershot waterwheel, wooden gearing system, belt power transmission, bucket elevators, and related bolters and sifters were representative of an ancient technology that began with Roman engineer Vitruvius. It ground wheat, corn, oats, and buckwheat in an era that was on the threshold of the Industrial Revolution.
IL
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Public Domain (Historic American Buildings Survey)Image Caption: Graue MillEra_date_from: 1852
1981
In the decade following the Civil War, the Mississippi River began to lose its standing as the primary transport artery in the Midwest. Railroads were taking over, and Chicago was rapidly becoming the center of Midwestern commerce. The Eads Bridge was the first major railroad link over the Mississippi, constructed by the city of St. Louis in an attempt to maintain its dominance as a regional commercial hub.
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Patrick Yodarus (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Eads BridgeEra_date_from: 1874
1971
In 1899, engineers from the City of Chicago's Division of Bridges and Viaducts performed a survey of moveable bridge design in the U.S. and Europe. Their study led to the conclusion that the unusual trunnion bascule design would best meet their needs.
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Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Matthew Black (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Cortland Street DrawbridgeEra_date_from: 1902
1981
The Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad was the first railroad to link Chicago and the Mississippi River, in the 1850s. This forty-stall roundhouse, large even for its time, became a major center for railroad activity for the CB&Q. It served as a repair and construction facility from which more locomotives and cars than any other CB&Q installation were built. Steam engines, passenger cars, freight cars, precision parts, tools, and machines were designed and built, beginning about 1858.
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/EarlRShumaker (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad RoundhouseEra_date_from: 1850s
1988
Innovations
