CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An old gas main installed before the Civil War was pulled out of the ground today in Chicago's River North neighborhood.
It went in the ground at Hubbard and Orleans before the Civil War but the old natural gas pipe was removed this morning.
Peoples Gas retired the 160-year-old gas main as part of its massive modernization project.
Vice president for construction Andy Hasselbach said the 17-foot section of cast iron is the oldest pipe in the city.
"We don't always pull the pipe out (but) this piece is unique," Hasselbach said.
City Historian Tim Samuelson with the Chicago Cultural Center says when it was installed in 1859, the pipe would deliver gas to power lights on the streets, in factories and the homes of workers.
A portion of the pipe will be on display at the Chicago History Museum.
Peoples Gas plans to save a portion to use for training employees, who have another 23 years worth of work to do replacing old pipes.