Plainfield Halfway House

Plainfield is beautifully located on the east bank of the Du Page River, about one mile north of the center of the township of Plainfield, and is nine miles northwest of Joliet. Chester Ingersoll is accredited with laying out the village proper, which is sometimes termed South Plainfield, while the north division was laid out by 'Squire Arnold. He was a New Yorker, and came here in 1834; laid out the village that year, and was one of the first to keep a tavern in the place. Being a little at " loggerheads " with Ingersoll, as our informant expressed it, his addition was laid ofi" a little " catering." The meaning of the latter word was gathered while taking a stroll through the village, when we found the streets of the two sections coming together at an angle of about forty-five degrees. But even with this defect, it is a very pretty little village and claims from one thousand to twelve hundred inhabitants. James Walker put up the first dwelling within the present limits long before it was laid out as a village. It was a small log house, and was occupied by Walker some time as a residence. Ingersoll built the next house, which was soon after .the one above-mentioned. Arnold put up the first house occupied purposely as a tavern, though Walker had kept a house of entertainment previously. " Uncle Fen " Aldrich also kept a tavern here. This was one of the stopping-places on the stage-route between Chicago and Ottawa, and the half-way point between the two places, hence, it was a good place for hotels. Jonathan Hagar and Samuel Sargent opened the first store in the upper story of John Bill's wagon-shop. The next year, they put up a storehouse, which has since been converted into the Congregational parsonage. Mr. Hagar continued in business here until 1861, when he retired, and is one of the wealthy men of the place. He tells the following anecdote as an example of the pernicious effects of sowing " tares :" An old lady, one of the early settlers of the village, brought with her from the East a quantity of burdockseed, declaring it to be " such an excellent yarb," that she was bound to have a crop growing. She accordingly sowed it in every available spot. That the crop did grow, the citizens of the village can bear witness, notwithstanding their utmost efibrts to the contrary.

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 village was incorporated under special act of the Legislature February 23, 1861. This embraced North Plainfield only, we believe. In April, 1869, it was again incorporated by special act, including both the north and south divisions of the place, and June 30, 1877, it was incorporated under the general law of the State. The first Board of Village Trustees were as follows : J. McAllister, George N. Chittenden, Robert Webb, Jonathan Hagar and John D. Shreffler. The Board organized for business by making J. McAllister President, and George N. Chittenden, Clerk. The present " City Fathers " are: Alexander McClaskey, President; A. J. Perkins, C. E. Eraser, Joseph McCreery, George W. Flagg, P. Y. Dundore, and H. A. Tounshendeau, Clerk ; Ira Vanolinda, Police Magistrate. The business of Plainfield presents the following outlook : Two general dry goods and grocery stores, two grocery and hardware stores, two drug stores, one book and stationery store, one furniture store, one hotel, one restaurant, two livery stables, five blacksmith-shops, three wagon-shops, four practicing physicians, two cider-mills ; with barber-shops, meat-markets, harness-shops, tailor-shops, paint-shops, millinery-shops, etc.; but neither saloons nor lawyers. It has, however, a Red Ribbon Club of 382 members - John D. Shrefiler, President, and H. A. Tounshendeau,- Secretary.

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 Plainfield Township - 1,852 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.