The Chicago Portage archive is available for download as a single .zip file from here. The archive includes copies of The Chicago Portage Ledger, photographs of the site, and the video "Connected Worlds: The Story of the Chicago Portage.
Furthermore, this December, we are launching a new platform for our unique digital collections.
Please take a moment to preview it and let us know what you think!
National Park Service Passport Stamp
The National Park Service (NPS) Passport is a means of recording visits to the different NPS sites with a rubber cancellation stamp.
While the Chicago Portage was designated a National Historic Site by the NPS, it is one of the "Non-Affiliated" National Historic Sites which are not owned by the NPS. So there is no visitor center, no NPS staff in "Smoky the Bear" hats, and no NPS Passport Stamp cancellation at the actual historic site in Portage Woods or Ottawa Trail Forest Preserves.
HOWEVER, the NPS Passport Stamp for the Chicago Portage IS available at The Little Red School House Nature Center (in the Cook County Forest Preserve) at 9800 S. 104th Ave. in Willow Springs (708-839-6897), and at the Forest Preserve District's headquarters at 536 N. Harlem Ave. River Forest, Illinois (open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm).
