"...convey transfer assign...the bed of the said Illinois and Michigan Canal and the land over which the same passes including its banks, margins, tow paths, feeders, basins, right of way, locks, dams, water power structures, stone excavated and stone and materials quarried, purchased, procured, or collected for its construction and the said Canal with all the hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging to the Canal Fund or which hereafter may be given granted or donated by the General Government to the State to aid in the construction of the said Canal and the buildings and erections belonging to the State thereon situated also all the lands and lots remaining unsold donated by the United States to the State of Illinois to aid in the completion of the said Canal."
Anyone have any experience determining the present boundary of the canal? I have plats from 1951 showing a Canal Reserve but no documentation in my title work of such. Said plats do not show dimensions of the Canal either.
FWIW, my client has it in her head that she owns the acreage shown on a document that she won't show me. I believe it is a survey by others that she thinks is incorrect. Her parcel is an outlot from a sub from 1851. No dimensions or areas are given. I can put the east and west lines in. Her north line is the Canal, her south is the Illinois River. Actually, the River line won't be difficult to put back either.
Oh yeah, I also need to take out a 25' strip for a railroad that was built in 1906 and all physical evidence is long since gone!
I'd give the Surveys Division of the IDNR Office of Water Resources a call. I'm not saying they'll have anything, but they would definitely be on my call list.
Section Chief of Surveys & Mapping
(217) 782-4485
Clayton Lee, Woodward
Unit Manager of Land Surveys
(217) 782-4544
Sounds like the canal was constructed on Public Domain lands, later deeded to the State. More than likely senior to all around it both by time and public status. There should be some documentation from Federal to State control. Bureau of Reclamation may have some records.
Are you familiar with Hubtack? They have .pdf copies if the I&M Canal surveys from the late 1940's that tie the boundaries to the PLSS sections through Grundy and LaSalle Counties. The sheets that I have seen show dimensions, and in many cases, set monumentation along the canal boundary. Send me an email and I can get you more info if interested.
Thanks for the info Marc!
Yep, I have the plats from hubtack. They appear to only dimension the "Canal Reserve" and not the Canal proper. Do you know the history of the "Canal Reserve?"
Those plats also show a 20' wide easement leased to a RR. I have a warranty deed to the same RR for a 25' strip.
I'm advising the client we hold off until they can provide more information. She is bent on "getting" the acreage shown on the "incorrect" survey. Right now, there is too much conflicting and missing information to properly execute the survey.
I hope she wants to put up a little more $$$ to do this right. I enjoy these surveys where we really have to dig through history.
