Plainfield, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Plainfield is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in Will County
Will County, Illinois
As of the census of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 600 people per square mile . There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 210 per square mile...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of the 2007 special census, the population is 37,334.

The Village includes land in Plainfield
Plainfield Township, Will County, Illinois
Plainfield Township is located in Will County, Illinois. The population was 45,691 at the 2000 census. See also Plainfield Public Library District-External links:* * *...

 and Wheatland
Wheatland Township, Will County, Illinois
Wheatland Township is located in Will County, Illinois. The population was 44,349 at the 2000 census.As of 2008, Wheatland Township had over 27,000 parcels located within its boundaries...

 townships. Part of Plainfield is located in Kendall County
Kendall County, Illinois
Kendall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 114,736, which is an increase of 110% from 54,544 in 2000. It was the fastest-growing county in the United States between the years 2000 and...

 (Na-Au-Say
Na-Au-Say Township, Kendall County, Illinois
Na-Au-Say Township occupies the 6 mile square on the eastern edge of Kendall County, Illinois.It is located at 41.590313 N, -88.312618 W. It has 88.525 square meters of land. Its population in the 2000 Census was 1,672...

 and Oswego
Oswego Township, Kendall County, Illinois
Oswego Township occupies the 6 mile square plus additional land to the South of the Fox River in northeast corner of Kendall County, Illinois....

 townships). With the growth in the Chicago suburbs in the 1990s and 2000s, the village has seen a building boom and a rapid population increase, from 4,500 in 1990 to 13,000 in 2000 to over 37,000 in 2007. Based on estimates created by the village and state government, Plainfield's population could grow as large as 120,000 by 2030. Plainfield is also the fastest growing village in Will county.

The Village has established a community Preservation Commission and historic preservation ordinance. It is the home of the Lake Renwick Preserve
Lake Renwick Preserve
The Lake Renwick Preserve is an county forest preserve located in Will County, Illinois. It is the second largest county-owned nature preserve in Will County. The closest major town is Plainfield, Illinois...

, a county forest preserve used for birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...

 and other activities.

History

The area was called Walkers' Grove until it was platted as Plainfield in 1841. It was originally settled by a large community of Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...

, and the land was later bequeathed to the United States as part of the Treaty of St. Louis (1816) with the Council of the Three Fires. Indian Boundary Road aligns with the western border of the tract of land originally ceded.

The earliest Europeans in the area were French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 fur traders. The first European settler in the area was James Walker, who traveled with his father-in-law, Methodist Reverend Jessie Walker traveled here in 1826 where he established a small mission for the Potawatomi Indians. James Walker, Jesse Walker's son-in-law, traveled with him and became the first European to claim land in the area in 1828.

In 1828, James Walker, in the company of several men, erected a sawmill around which the settlement of Walkers' Grove developed. It is a beautiful place.

Plainfield is identified as the oldest community in Will County because the earliest settlement of Walkers' Grove was established on the banks of the DuPage River by 1828. However, the actual Village of Plainfield was platted immediately north of Walkers' Grove in 1834 by Chester Ingersoll. The separate community of East Plainfield was platted in June 1836 by James Mathers who began selling lots in July 1836. In addition he also constructed a gristmill and a mill race west of Water Street. Water Street would later become Plainfield-Naperville Road. Ingersoll's Planefield (Plainfield)which comprised lots in Section 16, along with Mather's East Plainfield lots in Section 10 and Levi Arnold's plat of Section 9 all became joined to create the present-day village after the death of Levi Arnold's in 1845.

Walkers' Grove flourished because of the DuPage River
DuPage River
The DuPage River is a tributary of the Des Plaines River in the U.S. state of Illinois.-Course:The river begins as two individual streams. The West Branch of the DuPage River, long, starts in Schaumburg at Campanelli Park in Cook County and continues southward through the entire county of DuPage,...

 and established routes to Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of...

 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, as well as to Ottawa
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,786...

. Reuben Flagg hauled lumber from Walker's mill to Chicago in order to erect the first two frame structures in the city (P.F.W. Peck House and the George Dole Forwarding House). Chicago also depended upon the settlement for mail and supplies. This led to Plainfield being known as "The Mother of Chicago."
The community's early prosperity was stunted when the Illinois & Michigan Canal opened in 1848, because the Village was not located along the canal. Located within the Village are numerous Greek Revival, upright-and-wing cottages, a school built in 1847 (which may be the ), and a number of early-19th-century homes. Plainfield currently has three buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Plainfield House
Plainfield Halfway House
The Plainfield Halfway House is a historic building in Plainfield, Illinois. Plainfield was first settled in the 1820s by a group seeking to convert the local Pottawatomie to Christianity. Squire L. F. Arnold, the first postmaster of Plainfield, owned the tract of land that the building stands on....

, Flanders House and a 1928 Standard Oil Gas Station
Standard Oil Gasoline Station (Plainfield, Illinois)
The Standard Oil Gasoline Station is a historic building once used as a gas station in Plainfield, Illinois. The Lincoln Highway was the first paved road in Plainfield. As the first transcontinental road in America, the road saw very heavy usage and was re-designated U.S. Route 30 in the 1920s....

.

Plainfield abolitionists
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...

 offered food and shelter to runaway slaves following the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

.

At one time, the two longest paved highways in the world (Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...

 and U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...

) crossed within Plainfield. The highways only crossed each other twice and both locations are in Will County. The other location is in neighboring Joliet
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...

.

Plainfield is also the birthplace of Eddie Gardner, one of the pilots credited with establishing the transcontinental air mail routes for the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

. The earliest architects associated with buildings in Plainfield are J.E. Minott of Aurora; G. Julian & John Barnes of Joliet; and Herbert Cowell of Joliet and Plainfield.

On August 28, 1990, the Plainfield Tornado
Plainfield Tornado
The 1990 Plainfield tornado was a devastating tornado that occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 28, 1990. The violent tornado killed 29 people and injured 353. It is the only F5 tornado ever recorded in August and the only F5 tornado to ever strike the Chicago area...

, an F5
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...

 tornado, went through the Village and parts of Crest Hill
Crest Hill, Illinois
Crest Hill is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,329 at the 2000 census and the 2010 census population estimate was 20,867.-Geography:Crest Hill is located at...

 and Joliet
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...

, killing 29 people and injuring hundreds.

North Central College
North Central College
North Central College is a leading liberal arts college providing students at different stages of life and from different ethnic, economic and religious backgrounds with comprehensive educational programs.-Academics:...

 was first founded in the village in 1861 as Plainfield College.

Plainfield Public Library District
Plainfield Public Library District
The Plainfield Public Library District serves residents and businesses of the village of Plainfield, Illinois and surrounding area. The library district's current population is in excess of 60,000 residents....

 was first founded in the village in 1925 as the Nimmons Village of Plainfield Free Public Library.

A population explosion started to take form at the start of the 21st century caused by the sale of many farms. This made way for a large number of new home subdivisions. Before the population boom, Plainfield was primarily an agricultural town.

Certain older parts of Plainfield have suffered from extreme traffic congestion. Before Interstate 55
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north–south Interstate Highway. I-55 goes from LaPlace, Louisiana at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 , at McCormick Place. A common nickname for the highway is "double...

 was built just east of the town in the late 1950s, U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 is an east–west main route of the system of United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. It is the third longest U.S. route, after U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. The western end of the highway is at Astoria, Oregon; the...

, The Lincoln Highway and U.S. Route 66 (sometimes referred to as "The Mother Road") merged into one street for three blocks on what is now Illinois Route 59
Illinois Route 59
Illinois Route 59 is a north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois. It runs south from Illinois Route 83 in Antioch to Interstate Highway 55 in Shorewood, spanning the north–south width of Chicago's western suburbs...

. This merge is now only shared by U.S. 30 and Lincoln Highway, between Plainfield/Joliet Road on the south to Lockport Street on the north, but continues to be an area of heavy traffic congestion even outside heavy commuting periods.

Geography

Plainfield is located at 41°37′2"N 88°12′10"W (41.617280, -88.202837).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the village has a total area of 12.4 square miles (32.1 km²), of which, 11.6 square miles (30 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (6.67%) is water.

Like its namesake, Plainfield's topography is generally flat. Thousands of years ago, land in greater Plainfield used to be part of the bed of proglacial Lake Wauponsee. However, the lake did not hold up long, and eventually drained into the Illinois River
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...

 valley. The lake left behind a very flat landscape. Much of downtown Plainfield has an above sea level elevation of around 600 foot, with some areas in the western and northwestern portions of the village's outskirts exceeding 700 feet (213.4 m). This rise in elevation was created by terminal moraine
Terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a moraine that forms at the end of the glacier called the snout.Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. An end moraine is at the present boundary of the glacier....

s that were formed during the Wisconsin Episode of the last ice age's last glacial period that has been recorded.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 13,038 people, 4,315 households, and 3,521 families residing in the village. According to a 2003 special census, the village has a population of 20,673. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,122.8 people per square mile (420/km²). There were 4,609 housing units at an average density of 396.9 per square mile (153.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.85% White, 0.84% African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.87% of the population.

There were 4,315 households out of which 47.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the village the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the village was $73,217, and the median income for a family was $81,247. Males had a median income of $59,328 versus $35,861 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the village was $28,242. About 1.0% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

A special census conducted in 2007 pegged the city's population at 37,334.

Education

Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202
Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202
Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 is a public school district located primarily in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield, Illinois....

 serves Plainfield as well as Plainfield Township
Plainfield Township, Will County, Illinois
Plainfield Township is located in Will County, Illinois. The population was 45,691 at the 2000 census. See also Plainfield Public Library District-External links:* * *...

 in unincorporated parts of Will County, Joliet (Caton Farm Road Corridor), and small parts of Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook, Illinois
Bolingbrook is a large village in Will and DuPage Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 US Census, the population is 73,366...

 and Romeoville
Romeoville, Illinois
Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,153 at the 2000 census. As of 2006 the population has grown to 36,837. It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near the newly constructed I-355 extension south from the Stevenson Expressway to I-80...

.

Notable people

  • Actress Melissa McCarthy
    Melissa McCarthy
    Melissa McCarthy is an American actress and comedian.From 2000 to 2007, she portrayed Sookie St. James on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls. From 2007 to 2009, she portrayed Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? She currently stars in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she...

     was born in Plainfield
  • General John Henebry
    John Henebry
    John Philip 'Jock' Henebry was an United States Air Force Major General. He was born in Plainfield, Illinois. In 1936, he graduated from Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and then went to the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, where he graduated from in 1940...

     of the United States Air Force
    United States Air Force
    The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

     was born in Plainfield.
  • Romanian political prisoner Fr. Alexander Ratiu
    Alexander Ratiu
    Alexander Ratiu was a Romanian Greek-Catholic priest, political prisoner, and author.He was a priest in Giurtelecu Şimleului, Romania, and Plainfield, Illinois.- Education :...

     was a priest at St. Mary Immaculate Church from 1975 to 1982.
  • Brett Westcott is one of the Purdue University "Compliment Guys" who have been featured on Good Morning America and Oprah
  • NFL player Scott Davis
    Scott Davis (American football)
    Scott Davis is a former NFL player. He played defensive end. He played for the Los Angeles Raiders from 1988–1991, 1994. He attended the University of Illinois. He attended Plainfield High School where he was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. Scott M...

     attended Plainfield High School
  • Basketball player Nate Fox
    Nate Fox
    Nate Fox is an American basketball player who plays for Okapi Aalstar in Belgium.Fox played college basketball in Maine Black Bears averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his senior year....

  • Lisa Chesson
    Lisa Chesson
    Lisa Chesson is an American ice hockey defenseman. She was named to the United States women’s ice hockey team for the 2010 Winter Olympics....

     Olympic Ice Hockey player was born in Plainfield
  • Character actor Don Swayze
    Don Swayze
    - Early life :Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, the middle son of Patsy Yvonne Helen , a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jesse Wayne Swayze , an engineering drafter. He is a younger brother of actor Patrick Swayze and of sister Vicky Lynn, and the older brother of Sean Kyle and...

     best known for his guest spots on TV dramas such as Murder She Wrote lives in Plainfeild
  • Ernie Banks
    Ernie Banks
    Ernest "Ernie" Banks , nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.-High school years:Banks was a letterman and standout in football,...

    , former Chicago Cubs baseball player lives in Plainfield, Illinois

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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