Utica museum gets new name: Edmund B. Thornton Canal Warehouse Museum

Visionary. Entrepreneur. Philanthropist. Dignified. Leader. Gentleman.

Those were a few of the words conferred Sunday on the late Edmund B. Thornton. Members of the La Salle County Historical Society felt indebted to their longtime benefactor and advocate and so decided to make a big announcement on what would have been his 95th birthday.

The primary museum on Canal Street in Utica will from now on be known as the Edmund B. Thornton Canal Warehouse Museum.

“Edmund was such a huge part of this organization,” said Amanda Carter, museum director. “Mr. Thornton was an amazing gentleman. He helped La Salle County history so much and we hope to continue his legacy.”’

Encapsulating Thornton’s contribution to the society and the museum campus in Utica is no mean feat. From the 1960s up until his death in 2023, Thornton not only was a tireless researcher and proponent for historic preservation but he also was a man of influence who got Springfield’s attention at important moments.

Greg Tullis, a member of the society’s board of directors, recounted how Thornton saved the warehouse building from the wrecking ball and negotiated with the state to get favorable lease terms for the society.

Thornton also green-lighted a proposal that not only provided the society with critical revenue but also put La Salle County solidly on the tourist map. In the 1960s, members took note of a Cass County fundraiser in which celebrants were served burgoo, or pioneer stew.

Why not have a Burgoo Festival in Utica to fund museum operations?

“OK, let’s try it,” Thornton decreed. And for more than five decades, autumn visitors have jammed Utica and pumped money into the museum campus upkeep.

Those were only two of Thornton’s myriad accomplishments. Chicago-born Thornton was Ivy League-educated, served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and sailed on two Arctic expeditions before taking the reins at Ottawa Silica Co. He served as CEO from 1962 to 1983 and retired as chairman in 1986.

Thornton also made his mark in political circles, albeit largely behind the scenes, starting in 1972 when Richard Nixon tabbed him to chair the National Parks Centennial Commission.

That experience led him to press for the establishment of the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor (now National Heritage Area), where he served as its inaugural chairman from 1985 to 1988 and again from 1999 to 2000.

His widow, Susan Thornton, told the throng gathered Sunday that her husband remained passionate about history throughout his long life. Edmund also was committed to making an unflinching record of history and to not whitewashing difficult or tragic events.

“He would not be in favor of ever rewriting history or erasing any history that was not comfortable for people,” Susan Thornton said. “He believed in the truth.”