The History of Joliet, ILLINOIS.
THE FOUNDER
- The founder of the city of Joliet was, Louis Joliet. He was born in FRENCH CANADA in 1645. He was the third son of a Quebec wagon-maker and wheel-wright. When he was 20-21 years of age, he went searching after his older brother in the Iroquois Territory and due impart to this adventure he named a mound along the Des Plaines River and ultimately to the city of Joliet nearby.(From the book "A Pictorial History" by Robert E. Sterling third printing, G. BRADLEY PUBLISHING INC. St. Louis Missouri)
The Area of Joliet, EARLY YEARS
- It was the fall of 1673 and the French explorer, Louis Joliet, together with his father Jacques Marquette, after exploring the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, came back to the Illinois-Des Plaines River Valley-especially the northern region-that he provided a glowing account of the area which encompasses the present Joliet region: "Game is abundant [here]; oxen, cows, stags, does, and turkeys are found in great numbers [here more] than elsewhere...there are praries: three, six, ten, and twenty leagues in length, and in width, surrounded by forests of the same extent; beyond these, the praries begin again...A settler would not there spend ten years in cutting down and burning trees; on the very day of arrival, he could put his plow into the ground ...After sowing grain of all kinds, he might devote himself especially to planting the vine , and grafting fruit trees; to dressing ox-hides, where-with to make shoes."(Robert E. Sterling)
JULIET to JOLIET
- "One of the most difficult questions about the city's history concerns the origin of its name. When James B. Campbell laid out the original town in 1834 it was recorded as "Juliet" and remained so until 1845. Several conflicting explanations appear and reappear in local histories and booklets. A few sources claim that Campbell named the village after his wife, while others suggest he was honoring a daughter. Some present romantic notion that it was named to compliment the nearby city of Romeo [currently known as Romeoville]. Finally, there are sources which state that Juliet was named after the historic mound a short distance away. The latter theory is certainly the most plausible. It was certainly NOT named after Campbell's wife, whose name was Sarah Ann. Nor was it named for the companion for Romeo, since Juliet was founded first. [You have to realize that] nineteenth century midwestern towns were commonly named after prominent geographic features [not people's relatives]. When Campbell platted the village, there was evidence that he personally wanted to name it "O Plain", a name by which the Des Plaines River was known.
- Others involved in laying out the town apparently urged the name [of] "Juliet", since that's the name most maps gave to the prominent nearby land-mark. The historic mound was first called "MOUNT JOLIET" on the 1674 Louis Joliet Signature Map. Most early cartographers, however, corrupted the spelling of "Joliet" and mistakenly labeled the mound in various ways such as Mt. Juliet, Mt. Juliette, MounJolliette, and Mt. Julien. Although a few early maps retained the original spelling of "Joliet", the designation most often found is "Juliet". By the 1840's [] when President Martin Van Buren and Secretary Paulding of the NAVY visited Juliet and commented on the confusion of names, local leaders decided to have the legislature affect the change. Thus, the name was officially changed in 1845, and when the city was incorporated seven years later, it was then known as "Joliet.""(Robert E. Sterling)
First Courthouse in Joliet
- The first Will County Courthouse was completed in 1838 and stood on the east side of Chicago street across from the present public square. The structure also served as a jail with basement cells sunk in solid rock. While the courthouse was under construction, the county rented the upper story of Wilson's Store on Ottawa Street to use as a courtroom. Making no fine distinction between church and state the new courthouse was sometimes used for church services and revivals. For example, the First Baptist Church held its meetings in the courtroom and baptized its converts in the Des Plaines River. Not long after the second courthouse was built in 1848, the first was razed, prompting George H. Woodruff to observe: "How many and how varied the scenes which transpired within those old court house walls - County and Circuit Courts, temperance and political meetings, the pleading of both lawyers and preachers, thrilling trials and solemn charges of judges, the weeping of the condemned and the shouts of the redeemed, all have been heard there - but all are silent now."(Robert E. Sterling)
THE FIRST SAWMILL COMPANY
- "For almost a century the Red Mill Company was an area landmark on Hickory Creek near the Route 30 entrance to Highland Park. One of the areas earliest settlers, Col.Sayre, built the first sawmill on Hickory Creek. A pioneer settler vividly recalled watching the saw: Crashing ruthlessly through hugh oaks and black walnuts to supply the needs of new settlers."(Robert E. Sterling)
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