marseilles motorcycle 6

This is the 6th in a small series of images from a recent motorcycle ride to a favorite location, The Marseilles Mill Ruins, which, you can learn about by clicking on a link in my previous post.Ā  These are pictures of one of the gates that controlled the flow of water along channels, called raceways, that were used to help create power and run the old paper mill.

marseilles motorcycle 2

South of the small downtown of Marseilles, main street goes over the Illinois River (the bridge on the right) just west of the Marseilles Lock and Dam (on the left.) The Illinois Waterway connects the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. This is one of a series of 8 locks, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, that control water flow from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River system.