Joliet, Illinois

Joliet, or as sometimes styled, and very appropriately, too, the " Stone City," is situated on both sides of the Des Planes River, in a beautiful valley, with its suburbs extending back on to the bluffs like the wings of a great army. It is thirty-eight miles from Chicago, and connected with that suburban retreat by two of the greatest railroads in the State of Illinois, and has also water communication with Chicago via the Illinois & Michigan Canal. If Joliet is not a " city set on a hill," it is certainly " founded on a rock," for the entire surface upon which it is situated is stone. It is well laid out, the streets broad, with excellent sidewalks, and bordered with handsome trees. Many fine residences and business houses, built of stone - products of its own enterprise - are to be found here which would adorn any city. Its railroad facilities are excellent ; having the advantage of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific to the West ; the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis to the South ; the Chicago, Pekin & Southwestern to the Southwest ; and the Michigan Central to the East. These roads have been of much advantage in building up Joliet ; and their machine shops located here give employment to a large number of men. A full sketch of the railroads and of the canal is given in the general history, and so will not be repeated here.

Passage source: The History of Will County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County ... a Directory of Its Real Estate Owners; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics ... History of Illinois ... History of the Northwest .., published 1878.

The names of many of the early settlers of the city have already been ^iven in the settlement of the township, but no mention made of them beyond the date of their coming to the county, their works and their deeds being left for this chapter. As common in townships containing county seats, most of the important history of Joliet centers in the city of the same name. Here many of the more stirring events of the times transpired, and here, as just stated, much of the important history has occurred. Charles Reed is generally regarded as the first settler in the city of Joliet, or was, at least, the first to lay claim to any portion of the land in the original city. He had made a claim on the southsast quarter of Section 9, upon which, in 1833, he built a small log house, west of the river, and very near where the National Hotel now stands. Reed was from Indiana, and had settled in Reed's Grove about 1831; but, attracted by the water power, came to this place, as already noted, and commenced preparations for building a mill. In the Fall of 1833, James B. Campbell and James McKee purchased the " floats " granted by the State to Silvia and Rachel Hall, two girls who had been captured by the Indians, as narrated in the general history. Campbell located his float in the early part of 1834, on the east side of the river, embracing a part of the present city of Joliet. On the 13th day of May, the Surveyor's certificate was filed, and on the 10th of June, 1834, the plat was recorded and the town christened to "Juliet," for Campbell's daughter, it is said ; a name it bore until 1845, when it was changed by act of the Legislature. President Van Buren and his Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Paulding, while on a tour through the West, stopped at " Juliet," and, noticing the difierence in the name of the city and of Joliet Mound, urged the people to have the former changed to correspond with the latter, which was done as above stated, by act of the Legislature, and approved February 26, 1845. The act further provided that all additions subsequently laid out " shall be known as additions to Joliet." In January, 1834, McKee, after purchasing the claim of Reed, located his float on the west side of the river, and laid it out into one-acre lots. In April, 1834, Charles Clement bought one acre from McKee, for which he paid him $125, and on which he erected a story and a half building, the first frame house in West Joliet. Bailey Brothers had sometime previously built a frame house on the East Side.

Passage source: The History of Will County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County ... a Directory of Its Real Estate Owners; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics ... History of Illinois ... History of the Northwest .., published 1878.

As already stated, Charles Reed is regarded as the first permanent settler in the original town of Joliet, or "Juliet." David Maggard, however, settled in what is at present the city of Joliet, some three years before Reed. But at the time Maggard built his house, which was nearly opposite the Rolling Mill, there was no city of Joliet. and it was years after the birth of the city before it extended its limits to include Maggard's original cabin. Charles Reed, the pioneer of Joliet, finally went to Winnebago County, where he died a few years ago. Charles Clement, who is considered the oldest living resident of the city, settled permanently in the Spring of 1834. He commenced merchandising after he had been here some time, a business he continued for many years. In 1839, he with others started the first newspaper in Joliet, which is more particularly referred to in the history of the city press. In late years, he has retired from active business life, and is enjoying his well-earned possessions. Hon. Goerge H. Woodruff, perhaps the next "oldest inhabitant," also came to Joliet in 1834. He is still an active business man of the West Side, and entertains the warmest feelings for the "country beyond the river," and it may be, some prejudice for that side of the city. His able pen has furnished some valuable history to the county, in his lectures of "Forty Years Ago" and the "Patriotism of Will County," a book every soldier of the late war should have. His last literary effort, and perhaps one of his best, is the wi'iting of the General County History of this work. Otis Hardy settled here in 1836. His father died when he was but 16 years old, leaving the care of the family to him, a duty he faithfully performed. He began business in Joliet as a carpenter, but finally drifted into the lumber business, which he followed for twenty years. Mr. Hardy has been a member of the M. E. Church since 22 years of age, a member of the Quarterly Conference since 1837. and President of the Will County Bible Society for forty years. He is a man of large benevolence and exalted charity, and built at his own expense the Richards Street Methodist Church and parsonage at a cost of over $5,000, besides liberal contributions to the other Methodist churches of the city. He had little when he came to Joliet except a strong arm and willing hand, and here he has accumulated his wealth. George Woodruff, one of the successful merchants and bankers of the city, came here in 1836. He first commenced in the grocery and commission business, which he continued a number of years. In 1852, he built a grain elevator and engaged in the grain business until 1864, in which year the First National Bank was organized, with him as President - a business he is still engaged in. Edmund Wilcox is another of the old settlers of 1836. He was for a time engaged in merchandising in partnership with Charles Clement. In 1858, sold out and became one of the originators of the Joliet Gaslight Company, was its first President, and superintended the erection of the works of the company. He is at present one of the Justices of the Peace of the city and township. In 1852, he was on the Legislative Committee for laying off the city into wards, and also member of a committee to confer with Eastern capitalists as to the expediency of building a railroad, the final result of which was the building by the Michigan Southern, the Rock Island Railroad, one of the best appointed roads in the State of Illinois. Another of the business men of the city still surviving, is R. Doolittle. He came in 1837, and was elected Justice of the Peace a few years later, an office he held for twelve years ; was also Assignee in Bankruptcy during the existence of the old bankrupt act of the United States years ago. In 1852, he resumed business as a merchant, which he had formerly been engaged in, and the firm of Doolittle & Stone erected the thiee-story brick building on the south side of Jefferson street, which was the second building west of Ottawa street. He sold to his partner in 1864, and engaged in railroad contracting, and, in 1871, was again elected Justice of the Peace, which office he now holds. Uri Osgood came from New

Passage source: The History of Will County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County ... a Directory of Its Real Estate Owners; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics ... History of Illinois ... History of the Northwest .., published 1878.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Joliet Township - it names this place 59 more 59 times.