Plainfield is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

and Kendall counties,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 census. The village includes land in Will County's Plainfield and Wheatland townships, as well as Na-Au-Say and Oswego townships in Kendall County. With the growth in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

suburbs in the 1990s and 2000s, the village has seen a population increase, from 4,500 in 1990 to 28,000 in 2000 to nearly 45,000 in 2016. It is between the cities of

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

and Joliet. The village has established a community Preservation Commission and historic preservation ordinance. It is the home of the Lake Renwick Preserve, a county forest preserve used for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

and other activities. Located south of Village Hall is Settlers' Park, which includes a lake, war monument, open space, and more. The park presents outdoor concerts to the public in the summer.

History

The area was called "Walkers' Grove" until it was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted as "Plainfield" in 1841. It was originally settled by a large community of

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

people, 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 fur traders. The first European-American settler in the area was James Walker, who with his father-in-law,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister Jessie Walker, traveled here in 1826 where he established a small mission for the Potawatomi people. James Walker, Jesse Walker's son-in-law, traveled with him and became the first European-American 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. 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 The DuPage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Des Plaines River in the U.S. state of Illinois. Course The river begins as two indi ...

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. He also constructed a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and a mill race west of Water Street, which 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 Arnolds in 1845. Walkers' Grove flourished because of the DuPage River and established routes to

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. ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, as well as to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

to the west. Reuben Flagg hauled lumber from Walker's mill to Chicago in order to erect the first two frame structures in the city (the P.F.W. Peck House and the George Dole Forwarding House). Chicago also depended upon the settlement for mail and supplies. Flanders House (5978683004)

The community's early prosperity was stunted when the

Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Po ...

opened in 1848, because the village was not located along the canal. Located within the village are numerous

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

, Upright and Wing cottages, a school built in 1847, and a number of early-19th-century homes. Plainfield currently has three buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Plainfield Halfway House, Flanders House, and a 1928 Standard Oil gas station. Plainfield

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

offered food and shelter to runaway slaves following the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

North Central College North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has nearly 70 areas of study in undergraduate majors, minors, and programs through 19 academic departments organized in thre ...

was founded in the village in 1861 as Plainfield College. The Plainfield Public Library District was founded in the village in 1925 as the Nimmons Village of Plainfield Free Public Library. Plainfield is the birthplace of Eddie Gardner, one of the pilots credited with establishing the transcontinental air mail routes for the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

. The earliest architects associated with buildings in Plainfield are J.E. Minott of Aurora; G. Julian Barnes & John H. Barnes of Joliet; and Herbert Cowell of Joliet and Plainfield. On August 28, 1990, an F5 tornado ran its course through Plainfield. The "Plainfield Tornado" killed 29 people, 24 of whom were killed instantly, and 350 were injured. More than 1,100 homes were damaged and destroyed. The tornado made it across more than in only 8 minutes. It destroyed the only Plainfield high school at the time, now called Plainfield Central High School. A population boom started to take place at the end of the 20th century after the tornado, with a large number of new home subdivisions. Before this, Plainfield was primarily an agricultural town. Certain older parts of Plainfield once suffered from extreme traffic congestion. Before

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

was built just east of the village in the late 1950s,

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

(the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

) and

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

(sometimes referred to as "The Mother Road") merged into one street for three blocks in the center of town on what is now

Illinois Route 59 Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...

. The merge was 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. At one time, the two longest paved highways in the world (

and

) crossed within Plainfield. The highways only crossed each other twice and both locations are in Will County. The other location is in neighboring Joliet.

Geography

Plainfield is located in northwestern Will County at (41.617280, -88.202837). The village limits extend west into the eastern part of Kendall County. Plainfield is bordered to the north by the city of

, to the northeast by the village of Bolingbrook, to the east by the village of

Romeoville Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village is located southwest of Chicago on the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,863. It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near I ...

, and to the south by the city of Joliet. Farmland in Kendall County is to the west.

runs along the eastern edge of the village, with access from two exits. I-55 leads northeast to the center of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and southwest to Bloomington.

passes through the center of Plainfield, leading northwest to Montgomery and southeast to Joliet. Illinois Route 126 crosses US-30 in the center of Plainfield, leading northeast to I-55 and west to Yorkville.

runs through the center of Plainfield with US-30 but leads north to the west side of

and south to Shorewood. According to the 2010 census, Plainfield has a total area of , of which (or 95.95%) is land and (or 4.05%) is water. The

flows through the village center, running south towards the

Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River () is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American Her ...

in the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

watershed. 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 valley. The lake left behind a very flat landscape. Much of downtown Plainfield has an elevation of around above sea level, with some areas in the western and northwestern portions of the village's outskirts exceeding . This rise in elevation was created by

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

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 A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 39,581 people, 11,920 households, and 10,155 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 12,532 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 81.72%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 5.56%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.22% Native American, 7.62%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 2.6% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.22% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 10.73% of the population. There were 11,920 households, out of which 55.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.8% were non-families. 11.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.31 and the average family size was 3.62. In the village, the population was spread out, with 35.2% under the age of 18, 6% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95 males. According to a 2014 estimate by the U.S. Census, the median income for a household in the village was $111,536. About 1.0% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

Major highways in Plainfield include: Interstate Highways
I-55

US Highways
US 30

US 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

US 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

Illinois Highways
Illinois 59

Route 59

Route 126

Pace

The

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

bus system expanded two routes (755 and 855) to Plainfield beginning May 6, 2013. Both routes are "bi-directional, weekday rush hour service" from the Plainfield Village Center to

Downtown Chicago ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distri ...

. One route terminates in the

Illinois Medical District The Illinois Medical District (IMD) is a special-use zoning district two miles west of the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. The Illinois Medical District consists of 560 acres of medical research facilities, labs, a biotechnology business incubator ...

and the other in Chicago's East Loop.

Education

Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 is a public school district located in Illinois. There are four high schools, seven middle schools, seventeen elementary schools, one early learning center, and one alternative school in the ...

serves portions of Plainfield, Joliet, Crest Hill, Bolingbrook,

, and Plainfield Township in unincorporated parts of Will County. Peak enrollment in the district took place in 2010–2011 at 29,254 students. The enrollment has been steadily declining since that time, and is currently declining at several hundred students per year. Current enrollment is 26,545 for the 2018–2019 school year.

Notable people

* Kapri Bibbs, NFL running back; raised in Plainfield and played for Plainfield North High School's varsity football team; won

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...

with

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Joel Kim Booster Joel Alexander Kim Booster (born Kim Joonmin; February 29, 1988) is a South Korean-born American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He co-produced and wrote for '' Big Mouth'' and ''The Other Two'' and as an actor has appeared on '' Shrill'', ...

, comedian, actor, and writer. Born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Plainfield. *

Lisa Chesson Lisa Chesson (born August 18, 1986) is an American ice hockey defender, currently playing for the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Playing career Early career Chesson attended Plainfield Central High School in Plainfiel ...

, Olympic defenseman with U.S. women's ice hockey team; born in Plainfield and played on Plainfield Central High School's varsity hockey team *

Shea Couleé Jaren Kyei Merrell (born February 8, 1989), known professionally as Shea Couleé, is an American drag queen, musician, actor, podcaster, and fixture of the Chicago nightlife scene. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, they began their drag career in 2012. I ...

, a drag queen known for competing on '' RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9)''; RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 5 winner; raised in Plainfield *

Nate Fox Nate Fox (April 14, 1977 – December 22, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. Fox played college basketball for the University of Maine Black Bears, averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his senior year. After graduating, ...

, power forward and center with several European teams *

John Henebry John Philip Henebry CBE (February 14, 1918 – September 30, 2007) was a United States Air Force major general. Early life He was born in Plainfield, Illinois. In 1936, he graduated from Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and t ...

, US Air Force general; born in Plainfield *

Maurizio Iacono Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They have released fourteen studio albums, one EP and two DVDs as of 2020. Kataklysm won their first Juno Award (Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) for best album of the year in the "heavy metal" categ ...

, Canadian-born recording artist and singer for heavy metal band Kataklysm *

Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...

, actress; born in Plainfield *

Kristopher Prather Kristopher "Kris" Prather (born January 1, 1992) of Plainfield, Illinois is an American professional ten-pin bowler who competes on the PBA Tour. He is known for winning the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs on June 2, 2019 and the PBA Tournament of ...

, professional ten-pin bowler and winner of the 2019

PBA Tour Playoffs The PBA Tour Playoffs is an annual invitational event on the PBA Tour in North America that debuted in the 2019 season. After two years as a 24-player tournament, the event has been set up in a 16-player bracket-style format since 2021. Tournament ...

; resides in Plainfield *

Alexander Ratiu Priesthood (Catholic Church), Father Alexander Ratiu ( ro, Rațiu; 4 May 1916 – 25 July 2002) was a Romanian people, Romanian-American priest of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic, Romanian Greek-Catholic Church. While serving ...

, Romanian political prisoner; priest at St. Mary Immaculate Church (1975–1982) * Warren L. Wood, Illinois politician; lived in Plainfield *

Kahmari Montgomery Kahmari Montgomery (born August 16, 1997) is an American track and field sprinter specializing in the 400 m for Nike. He was the men's 400 m champion at the USA Championships in 2018, and at the NCAA Division I Championships i ...

, Professional track athlete for Nike.

References

External links

*
Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois
{{authority control 1841 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1841 Populated places on the Underground Railroad Villages in Illinois Villages in Kendall County, Illinois Villages in Will County, Illinois

History

Geography

Demographics

Transportation

Major highways

Pace

Education

Notable people

See also

References

External links