With the construction of highways and suburban development to the west, many businesses moved from the downtown area to the expanding areas west of the river. Joliet has a 'west side' and ' east side', referring to areas in relation to the river.

Joliet developed along the Des Plaines River, and its downtown is located in the river valley. They are: Joliet, Plainfield, Troy, New Lenox, Jackson, Channahon, and Lockport in Will County, and Na-Au-Say and Seward in Kendall County. It has a sprawling, irregular shape that extends into nine different townships, more than any other Illinois city. Geography Īccording to the 2010 census, Joliet has a total area of 62.768 square miles (162.57 km 2), of which 62.11 square miles (160.86 km 2) (or 98.95%) are land and 0.658 square miles (1.70 km 2) (or 1.05%) is covered by water. When the city later built a new bridge, it was named the Van Horne Bridge. Cornelius Covenhoven Van Horne was active in getting the city its first charter, and because of this, he was elected Joliet's first mayor. Joliet was reincorporated as a city in 1852. In 1845, local residents changed the community's name from 'Juliet' to 'Joliet', reflecting the original name. Just before the economic depression of 1837, Juliet incorporated as a village, but to cut tax expenses, Juliet residents soon petitioned the state to rescind that incorporation. Campbell, treasurer of the canal commissioners, laid out the village of 'Juliet', a corruption of 'Joliet' that was also in use at the time. In 1833, following the Black Hawk War, Charles Reed built a cabin along the west side of the Des Plaines River. The mound has since been flattened due to mining. Maps from Jolliet's exploration of the area showed a large hill or mound down river from Chicago, labeled Mont Joliet.

In 1673, Louis Jolliet, along with Father Jacques Marquette, paddled up the Des Plaines River and camped on a huge earthwork mound, a few miles south of present-day Joliet. At the 2020 census, the city is the 3rd most populous city in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. state of Illinois, 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Chicago. Joliet ( / ˈ dʒ oʊ l i ɛ t, dʒ oʊ l i ˈ ɛ t/ JOH-lee-et, joh-lee- ET) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S.

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