The History of Joliet, Illinois

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION &
AFRO-AMERICAN SLAVES:

"[] by 1863 the uneasy political truce ended, and [states] partisianship returned on the national and local levels. In Joliet, the Democratic editors of the Joliet Signal were especially critical of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Conscription Act. Under such headlines as "Up With Negro," "Negro Equality," and "The Negroes Coming," the Signal castigated the Lincoln administration for its racial policies and warned readers that hordes of liberated slaves would soon pour into Illinois to take the jobs of white working men. (Robert E. Sterling)

MOVING PAST THE WAR:

General Lee's surrender and the war's end was announced by the ringing of bells throughout the city. [] However, the mood suddenly shifted to sorrow and grief a few days later when word of President Lincoln's assassination was received. [Wrote an eye witness], "men talk with bated breath and walk with measured steps. Offices and shops are closed. The city is draped in mourning." By the late 1860's [], the business district was beginning to shift to the eastside with new construction on both Jefferson and Chicago Streets. [By] 1890 Joliet companies manufactured windmills, bricks, bicycles, boots and shoes, chairs, harness and saddles, stoves, tile, doors, agricultural implements, beer, soda pop, wagons and carriages, paint, lime, cigars, engines, and clocks.

GEORGE H. WOODRUFF (Picture of George):

George H. Woodruff was an early settler who deserves special mention in any publication on the history of Joliet. In 1834, Mr. Woodruff came from New York and established himself as a public - spirited businessman.[] For many years he operated a drugstore on Bluff St. and closely observed the city's growth. While concocting prescriptions at his counter, Woodruff catalogued in his memory the fasinating detail of Joliet's beginnings. (Robert E. Sterling)

In 1873 and 1874, George [] delivered 2 lectures on Joliet's history, which were later published under the titles of "40 Years Ago" and "50 Years Ago." George [] The druggist and historian -- was president of the Will County Pioneer's Association for many years. [He] followed the Sauk or Sac Trail, an historic trail established by the Indians journeying across Illinois from Detroit to the Mississippi River. (Robert E. Sterling)

This remarkable man not only had a great appreciation of Joliet's past, but he had a vision of its future as well. In addressing the Pioneers Association in 1886, then celebrating the 15th anniversary of the county's founding, George envisioned "a city of 300,000 or 400,000... its gorgeous stores and dwellings and extensive manufacturies not only filling up this valley from Lockport to Joliet Lake, but also crowning all the enclosing bluffs, and extending far out upon the outlying prairies... Our children and grandchildren will see the fulfillment of our dream." (Robert E. Sterling)

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