Its success may be linked to Plainfield's large number of abolitionists, who helped establish a section of the Underground Railroad here to help African-Americans escape to freedom.
The process of selling land claims was confusing, competitive and made complicated by Indian treaties, military land grants and squatters.
Walkers' Grove settlers were duped into thinking northeastern Illinois winters were mild ... until they lived through the “Winter of the Deep Snow.”
The government needed a route that would allow safe passage from Chicago to Ottawa, and negotiated a treaty in the early 1800s that divided Indian land from white settlements.
Henry H. Evans not only served in the General Assembly but ran restaurants and hotels, built subdivisions and streetcar lines, and ultimately brought "water gas" to Plainfield.
This month is the 120th anniversary of what's considered the worst first in the village's history: the December 1891 blaze that destroyed most of the north side of Lockport Street.
It may not look like it now, but the road was lined with commercial and industrial enterprises in the mid-1800s, including a foundry, blacksmiths and cabinetmakers.
Three men with three very different visions for Plainfield helped shape the town we know today, but the biggest influence may have been the Illinois & Michigan Canal.
Arnold Street was named in honor of Levi Arnold, a Plainfield pioneer who helped put the village on the stagecoach route.
Yes, there once was a village named "East Plainfield" but few remnants of its existence remain today.
It makes for a good story, but Plainfield's ties to the record-setting horse are tangential at best.
All that remains today is a three-block street named Dillman, but the family's foundry once made them among the most prosperous in town.
North Central College marks 150 years Friday, but for the first nine, the school was based in Plainfield.
North Central College marks 150 years Friday, but for the first nine, the school was based in Plainfield.
While it makes a good story, there's no truth to the tales about Thomas Westendorf writing "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" in our town.
Founder Chester Ingersoll's credited with the name but he took his reasons with him when he left town.
First in a two-part column exploring the legends of the inventor of the electric light bulb, his wife and Plainfield's riverfront park.
