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Joliet, Illinois

City in Illinois, United States

  • 15 min read
  • 12 chapters

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History

In 1673, Louis Jolliet, along with Father Jacques Marquette, paddled up the Des Plaines River and camped on a huge earthwork mound, a few miles south of present-day Joliet. Maps from Jolliet's exploration of the area showed a large hill or mound down river from Chicago, labeled Mont Joliet. The mound has since been flattened due to mining.

In 1833, following the Black Hawk War, Charles Reed built a cabin along the west side of the Des Plaines River. Across the river in 1834, James B. Campbell, treasurer of the canal commissioners, laid out the village of "Juliet", a corruption of "Joliet" that was also in use at the time. Just before the economic depression of 1837, Juliet incorporated as a village, but to cut tax expenses, Juliet residents soon petitioned the state to rescind that incorporation.

In 1845, local residents changed the community's name from "Juliet" to "Joliet", reflecting the original name. Joliet was reincorporated as a city in 1852. Cornelius Covenhoven Van Horne was active in getting the city its first charter, and because of this, he was elected Joliet's first mayor. When the city later built a new bridge, it was named the Van Horne Bridge. Joliet went on to build a system of four more Moveable drawbridges along the river to allow for the passage of large shipping boats.

Joliet Iron and Steel Works was once the second largest steel mill in the United States. Joliet Iron Works was initially run from 1869 to 1936. Joliet Steel Works eventually became unprofitable, and all operations were ceased by the early 1980s. It is now preserved on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Joliet Correctional Center (also known as "Old Joliet Prison") was completed in 1858. The prison was constructed entirely out of local Limestone sourced from Joliet and the nearby village of Romeoville. At the time of its opening, it was the largest state prison in Illinois. The facility closed in 2002, but opened for tours in 2018.

U.S. Route 66 was completed in 1926 and runs directly through Joliet. It crosses the Des Plaines River at Ruby Street Bridge and continues through the downtown area and south of Interstate 80. It runs concurrent with IL-53 and is home to several tourist stops, including the first-ever Dairy Queen location.

Joliet was a prosperous community through the early 1900s until the Great Depression. During the 1930s many residents were no longer financially able to afford the upkeep of their large residences. The Jacob A. Henry Mansion, along with many other properties, became boarding houses. The mansion was later used as a funeral parlor. In the 1940s, when single-family housing became scarce during World War II, large Victorian homes were divided to accommodate multiple families. After the war, absentee landlords and deferred maintenance exacerbated the slowly deteriorating condition of the area. Extensive use of vinyl siding in exterior renovations also played a role in Joliet's decline, altering several historic limestone structures. In 1975, Joliet became eligible for federal financial assistance under the HUD Block Grant Program. The program provided incentives for homeowners and landlords to restore historic structures. Efforts to revitalize Joliet are ongoing, and were aided in part by the establishment of the Joliet East Side Historic District in 1980. The Upper Bluff Historic District was established in 1991. Both neighborhoods are listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

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