Joliet, Illinois

City: Joliet

County: Will

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 41.5167, -88.0667

Joliet, Illinois is a city and county seat of Will County, Illinois. Situated on the Des Plaines River approximately thirty-eight miles southwest of Chicago, Joliet welcomed its first white settlers in 1833. In 1834, proprietors of the land platted a new village, naming in Juliet for one of the proprietor's daughters. In 1836, Juliet became the county seat of Will County when the Illinois General Assembly established the county. In 1837, the General Assembly incorporated Juliet as a town, but in 1839, it repealed its charter. In 1845, the General Assembly changed its name from Juliet to Joliet. In 1852, the General Assembly chartered Joliet as a city. In the nineteenth century, Joliet boasted excellent transportation access to Chicago via railroad and the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

The History of Will County, Illinois (Chicago: Wm. Le Baron, Jr., 1878), 379-80; An Act to Establish the County of Will; An Act to Incorporate the Town of Juliet, and Define its Boundaries; An Act to Repeal "An Act to Incorporate the Town of Joliet, and Define its Boundaries"; "An Act to Change the Name of a Town Therein Named," 26 February 1845, Laws of Illinois (1845), 166; "An Act to Charter the City of Joliet," 22 June 1852, Laws of the State of Illinois (1852), 161-70.