La Salle will celebrate its Irish roots and canal heritage on Saturday, March 14, during Digger’s Day, a free event honoring the laborers who built the Illinois and Michigan Canal and helped establish the city.

All activities are free and open to the public. The day begins from 10–10:30 a.m. with a morning blessing and brief history of St. Patrick and the early La Salle Catholic community at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church (725 Fourth St.).

The blessing will be followed by live Irish fiddle music by Sarah Arter at 11 a.m at the I&M Canal Visitor Center (754 First St.).

Downtown restaurants will feature Irish lunch fare before the First Street parade steps off from 1–2 p.m. along First Street from Bucklin to LaHarpe streets.

Storytelling will be 2–3 p.m. at the I&M Canal Visitor Center. The event features Irish folklore and canal-era history told by Tricia Kelly.

The celebration concludes at 3:15 p.m. with a ceremony dyeing the fountain at First and Gooding streets green in honor of the Irish diggers.

Visitors may also enjoy decorated window displays as part of a window decorating contest for downtown businesses.

Long before railroads crossed the prairie or smokestacks rose along the river, LaSalle began with picks, shovels, and determined hands carving a waterway through rock and earth. Completed in 1848, the canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River system and transformed northern Illinois into a center of trade and settlement. Nearly 10,000 immigrant laborers — many newly arrived from Ireland, some even before the Great Famine — endured dangerous conditions to dig the canal by hand.

They faced backbreaking labor, prejudice and disease. Cholera outbreaks swept through shantytowns along the canal route, including in La Salle, claiming hundreds of workers. Paid about $1 a day and often in canal scrip redeemable for land, many remained after construction ended, turning from laborers to farmers and founders, and choosing to make La Salle their permanent home.

In its early years, La Salle’s population was nearly 50% Irish. Today, the city’s Irish ancestry is about 15%. The Irish community established a lasting Catholic presence, including St. Patrick’s Church, believed to be the oldest continuously active Catholic parish in Illinois, as well as historic cemeteries such as St. Vincent’s.

The event is hosted by the La Salle Business Association and sponsored by Millstone Bakery, JB Contracting Corp. Electrical/Mechanical Contractors, La Salle State Bank, and Just Needs Done Enterprises.