49-451: New Lenox Township is located in the heart of Will County , Illinois , on U.S. Route 30 and Interstate 80 . As of the 2010 census, its population was 40,270, and it contained 13,721 housing units. New Lenox Township has thirty-six square miles within its jurisdiction. It serves almost all of the Village of New Lenox and parts of the individual municipalities of Mokena, Homer Glen, Joliet and
98-535: A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives authorizing a land grant to the company to construct a line from the mouth of the Ohio River to Chicago and on to Galena . Federal support, however, was not approved until 1850, when U.S. President Millard Fillmore signed a land grant for the construction of the railroad. The Illinois Central was the first land-grant railroad in the United States. The Illinois Central
147-468: A countywide vote. The current county executive is Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, who took office in 2020. Will County government has been housed in a succession of courthouses, the first being erected in 1837. The fourth courthouse was designed of reinforced concrete in the Brutalist style by Otto Stark of C.F. Murphy Associates and completed in 1969. Citing lack of space, inefficiency and high operating costs,
196-424: A female householder with no husband present, 22.7% were non-families, and 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.41. The median age was 35.4. The median income for a household in the county was $ 75,906 and the median income for a family was $ 85,488. Males had a median income of $ 60,867 versus $ 40,643 for females. The per capita income
245-511: A folk anthem, " City of New Orleans " about riding on Illinois Central's "Monday-morning rail" train and the passing of the "magic carpet" ride of passenger rail service in the United States, which once dominated travel. The IC was one of the oldest Class I railroads in the United States. The company was incorporated by the Illinois General Assembly on January 16, 1836. Within a few months Rep. Zadok Casey (D-Illinois) introduced
294-564: Is a U.S. Forest Service park in the county on the grounds of the former Joliet Arsenal . Other parks include Channahon State Park and the Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area . In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Joliet have ranged from a low of 13 °F (−11 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C)
343-411: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Will County, Illinois Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois . According to the 2020 census , it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county seat is Joliet . Will County is one of the five collar counties of
392-694: Is intersected by the Illinois and Michigan canal , by the Chicago branch of the Central railroad , the Chicago and Mississippi , and by the Chicago and Rock Island railroad . Named in honor of Conrad Will, for many years a member of the Illinois legislature. Capital, Joliet. Population 16,703." According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has an area of 849 square miles (2,200 km ), of which 837 square miles (2,170 km )
441-738: Is land and 12 square miles (31 km ) (1.5%) is water. The Kankakee River , Du Page River and the Des Plaines River run through the county and join on its western border. The Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal run through Will County. A number of areas are preserved as parks (over 20,000 acres (81 km ) total) under the Forest Preserve District of Will County . The 17,000 acres (69 km ) Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
490-555: The City of New Orleans and the Illini and Saluki between Chicago and Carbondale. Another Illinois corridor service is planned for the former Black Hawk route between Chicago, Rockford and Dubuque. Amtrak, at the state of Illinois' request, did a feasibility study to reinstate the Black Hawk route to Rockford and Dubuque. Initial capital costs range from $ 32 million to $ 55 million, depending on
539-559: The Chicago Loop . Amtrak serves the county at Joliet Transportation Center . The Lincoln Service operates between Chicago and St. Louis, while the Texas Eagle provides service from Chicago south to San Antonio and west to Los Angeles . Will County is a major hub in the national natural gas pipeline grid where pipelines from Canada and the Gulf of Mexico meet and then fan out to serve
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#1733084838146588-618: The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad ( reporting mark ICG ). October 30 of that year saw the Illinois Central Gulf commuter rail crash , the company's deadliest. At the end of 1980, ICG operated 8,366 miles of railroad on 13,532 miles of track; that year it reported 33,276 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 323 million passenger-miles. Later in that decade, the railroad spun off most of its east–west lines and many of its redundant north–south lines, including much of
637-735: The Main Line of Mid-America , was a railroad in the Central United States . Its primary routes connected Chicago , Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana , and Mobile, Alabama , and thus, the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico . Another line connected Chicago west to Sioux City, Iowa (1870), while smaller branches reached Omaha, Nebraska (1899) from Fort Dodge, Iowa , and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1877), from Cherokee, Iowa . The IC also ran service to Miami , Florida, on trackage owned by other railroads. The IC, founded in 1851, pioneered
686-578: The Memphis and Charleston Railroad at Grand Junction, Tennessee and the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Jackson, Tennessee. The Mississippi Central was the scene of several military actions from 1862 to 1863 and was severely damaged during the fighting. Company president, Absolom M. West succeeded in repairing the damage and returning it to operating condition soon after the end of the War. By 1874, interchange traffic with
735-523: The National Register of Historic Places . "WILL, a county in the E. N. E. part of Illinois, bordering on Indiana, has an area of 1,236 square miles (3,200 km ). It is intersected by the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers , branches of the Illinois . The surface is generally level, and destitute of timber, excepting small groves. The soil is very fertile, and much of it is under cultivation. The soil of
784-670: The Panama Limited, the Electric District appears as "Panama Orange" on Metra system maps and timetables. Additionally, the IC operated a second commuter line out of Chicago (the West Line ) which served Chicago's western suburbs. Unlike the electrified commuter service, the West Line did not generate much traffic and was eliminated in 1931. Amtrak presently runs three trains daily over this route,
833-588: The "Pearl and Leaf Rivers Railroad" was built by the J.J. Newman Lumber Company from Hattiesburg , to Sumrall . In 1904 the name was changed to the Mississippi Central Railroad ( reporting mark MSC ). In 1906 the Natchez and Eastern Railway was formed to build a rail line from Natchez to Brookhaven . In 1909 this line was absorbed by the Mississippi Central. For a short time during the 1920s,
882-502: The 1880s, northern lines were built to Dodgeville, Wisconsin ; Sioux Falls, South Dakota ; and Omaha, Nebraska . Further expansion continued into the early twentieth century. The Illinois Central, and the other "Harriman lines" owned by E.H. Harriman by the twentieth century, became the target of the Illinois Central shopmen's strike of 1911 . Although marked by violence and sabotage in the southern, midwestern, and western states,
931-509: The Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. The portion of Will County around Joliet uses area codes 815 and 779, while 630 and 331 are for far northern Will County and 708 is for central and eastern Will County. Will County was formed on January 12, 1836, out of Cook and Iroquois Counties . It was named after Conrad Will , a politician and businessman involved in salt production in southern Illinois. Will
980-510: The County Board chose to erect a new courthouse, which was designed by Wight & Co. and completed in 2020. Considerable controversy surrounded the disposition of the 1969 courthouse, with Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois including the building on its “2022 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois”. After a number of votes and appeals, demolition was approved and the destruction of
1029-622: The Illinois Central Railroad was important enough that the IC installed a Nutter hoist at Cairo, Illinois to interchange between its standard gauge equipment broad gauge used by the Mississippi Central. This allowed the trucks to be exchanged on 16-18 freight cars per hour; a Pullman car could be changed in 15 minutes. The original Mississippi Central line was merged into the Illinois Central Railroad subsidiary Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad in several transactions finally completed in 1878. A line started in 1897 as
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#17330848381461078-599: The Midwest. The following major energy companies own pipeline that runs through Will County: ExxonMobil owns and operates the Joliet Refinery along the Des Plaines River just east of I-55 . According to ExxonMobil, the refinery employs about 600 people and was constructed in 1972. 41°26′N 87°59′W / 41.44°N 87.98°W / 41.44; -87.98 Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad ( reporting mark IC ), sometimes called
1127-534: The United States. The original Mississippi Central line was chartered in 1852. Construction of the 255 miles (410 km) 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) gauge line began in 1853 and was completed in 1860, just prior to the Civil War , from Canton, Mississippi to Jackson, Tennessee . The southern terminus of the line connected to the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad at Canton. It also connected to
1176-550: The administration, maintenance and preservation of the local Marshall and Maplewood Cemeteries. According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of 35.94 square miles (93.1 km), of which 35.86 square miles (92.9 km) (or 99.78%) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km) (or 0.22%) is water. New Lenox was also known as Spencer during the early 1900s. 41°30′41″N 87°57′52″W / 41.51139°N 87.96444°W / 41.51139; -87.96444 This Will County, Illinois location article
1225-592: The building began on December 4, 2023. Like most of the collar counties , Will County was once a Republican stronghold. It went Republican in all but three elections from 1892 to 1988. Since the 1990s, it has become a swing county. It voted for the national winner in every presidential election from 1980 to 2012, but Chicago-born Hillary Clinton won it along with the rest of the "collar counties" aside from McHenry in 2016. K-12 school districts, including any with any territory in Will County, no matter how slight, even if
1274-502: The county was 76.0% white, 11.2% black or African American, 4.6% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 5.8% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 21.6% were German , 18.6% were Irish , 13.3% were Polish , 11.1% were Italian , 5.9% were English , and 2.1% were American . Of the 225,256 households, 44.0% had children under 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 10.9% had
1323-433: The end of 1970, IC operated 6,761 miles of road and 11,159 of track. In 1960, the railroad retired its last steam locomotive, 2-8-2 Mikado #1518. On August 31, 1962, the railroad was incorporated as Illinois Central Industries, Inc. ICI acquired Abex Corporation (formerly American Brake Shoe and Foundry Co.) in 1968. On August 10, 1972, the Illinois Central Railroad merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad to form
1372-525: The entire unincorporated areas of the New Lenox community. New Lenox Township changed its name from Vernon Township on June 10, 1850. New Lenox Township provides general assistance to needy families, the fair and equal assessment of all real estate, and bridge and storm water system maintenance outside the municipality. New Lenox also provides environmental programs, mosquito abatement, transit services, senior housing, family, senior and youth service programs and
1421-416: The financing later used by several long distance U.S. railroads whose construction was partially financed through a federal land grant . The Canadian National Railway , via Grand Trunk Corporation , acquired control of the IC in 1998, and absorbed its operations the following year. The Illinois Central Railroad maintains its corporate existence as a non-operating subsidiary. In 1971, Steve Goodman released
1470-425: The former GM&O. Most of these lines were bought by other railroads, including entirely new railroads such as the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway ; Paducah and Louisville Railway ; Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad ; and MidSouth Rail Corporation . In 1988, the railroad's parent company, IC Industries, spun off its remaining rail assets and changed its name to Whitman Corporation. On February 29, 1988,
1519-517: The line operated a service named "The Natchez Route", running trains from Natchez to Mobile, Alabama through trackage agreements with the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad . At Natchez, freight cars were ferried across the Mississippi River to connect with the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway to institute through traffic into Shreveport, Louisiana . In 1967 the property of the Mississippi Central
New Lenox Township, Illinois - Misplaced Pages Continue
1568-638: The main route including The Creole and The Louisiane . The Green Diamond was the Illinois Central's premier train between Chicago, Springfield and St. Louis. Other important trains included the Hawkeye which ran daily between Chicago and Sioux City and the City of Miami eventually running every other day between Chicago and Miami via the Atlantic Coast Line , the Central of Georgia Railroad and Florida East Coast Railway . The Illinois Central
1617-466: The newly separated ICG dropped the "Gulf" from its name and again became the Illinois Central Railroad. On February 11, 1998, the IC was purchased for about $ 2.4 billion in cash and shares by Canadian National Railway (CN). Integration of operations began July 1, 1999. Illinois Central was the major carrier of passengers on its Chicago-to-New Orleans mainline and between Chicago and St. Louis. IC also ran passengers on its Chicago-to-Omaha line, though it
1666-563: The operation of the train, the Illinois Central combined the Panama Limited with a coach-only train called the Magnolia Star . On May 1, 1971, Amtrak took over intercity rail service. It retained service over the IC mainline, but dropped the Panama Limited in favor of the City of New Orleans. However, since it did not connect with any other trains in either New Orleans or Chicago, Amtrak moved
1715-404: The oral examination before admitting them to the Illinois bar), as a trustee on the new railroad's board to guard the public's interest. Lockwood, who would serve more than two decades until his death, had overseen federal land monies shortly after Illinois' statehood, then helped oversee early construction of the recently completed Illinois and Michigan Canal . Upon its completion in 1856, the IC
1764-448: The prairies is a deep, sandy loam, adapted to Indian corn and grass. In 1850 the county produced 527,903 bushels of Indian corn; 230,885 of wheat; 334,360 of oats; 32,043 tons of hay, and 319,054 pounds of butter. It contained 14 churches, 3 newspaper offices; 3472 pupils attending public schools, and 200 attending other schools. Quarries of building stone are worked near the county seat. The Des Plaines river furnishes water-power. The county
1813-452: The present-day shore to the east. Track from Centralia north to Freeport would be abandoned in the 1980s, as traffic to Galena was routed via Chicago. In 1867, the Illinois Central extended its track into Iowa . During the 1870s and 1880s, the IC acquired and expanded railroads in the southern United States. IC lines crisscrossed the state of Mississippi and went as far south as New Orleans, Louisiana , and east to Louisville, Kentucky . In
1862-501: The route to an overnight schedule and brought back the Panama Limited name. However, it restored the City of New Orleans name in 1981, while retaining the overnight schedule. This was to capitalize on the popularity of a song about the train written by Steve Goodman and performed by Arlo Guthrie . Willie Nelson 's recording of the song was #1 on the Hot Country Charts in 1984. Illinois Central ran several other trains along
1911-460: The route. Once in operation, the service would require roughly $ 5 million a year in subsidies from the state. On December 10, 2010, IDOT announced the route choice for the resumption of service to begin in 2014 going over mostly CN railway. Presidents of the Illinois Central Railroad have included: Several locomotives and rolling stock formerly owned and used by Illinois Central are preserved, and many of them reside in parks and museums across
1960-480: The schools and/or administrative headquarters are in other counties: K-12: Secondary: Elementary: Will County is served by four U.S. interstate highways, four U.S. highways, and 12 Illinois highways. Pace provides bus transit services within the county. Four different Metra commuter rail lines ( Metra Electric Main Line , Southwest Service , Rock Island District and Heritage Corridor ) connect Will County with
2009-563: The strike was effectively over in a few months. The railroads simply hired replacements, among them African-American strikebreakers, and withstood diminishing union pressure. The strike was eventually called off in 1915. The totals above do not include the Waterloo RR, Batesville Southwestern, Peabody Short Line or CofG and its subsidiaries. On December 31, 1925, IC/Y&MV/G&SI operated 6,562 route-miles on 11,030 miles of track; A&V and VS&P added 330 route-miles and 491 track-miles. At
New Lenox Township, Illinois - Misplaced Pages Continue
2058-408: Was $ 29,811. About 5.0% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 9.0% of those under 18 and 5.6% of those 65 or older. Will County is governed by a 22-member county board elected from 11 districts. Each district elects two members. The county executive, county clerk, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder of deeds, state's attorney, and sheriff are all elected in
2107-456: Was a member of the first Illinois Constitutional Convention and a member of the Illinois legislature until his death in 1835. Besides its present area, the county originally included the part of Kankakee County, Illinois , north of the Kankakee River . It lost that area when Kankakee County was organized in 1852. Since then its boundaries have not changed. 36 locations in Will County are on
2156-514: Was also a major operator of commuter trains in the Chicago area, operating what eventually became the "IC Electric" line from Randolph Street Terminal in downtown Chicago to the southeast suburbs. In 1987, IC sold this line to Metra , who operates it as the Metra Electric District . It still operates out of what is now Millennium Station , which is still called "Randolph Street Terminal" by many longtime Chicago-area residents. In honor of
2205-544: Was chartered by the Illinois General Assembly on February 10, 1851. Senator Stephen A. Douglas and later President Abraham Lincoln were both Illinois Central men who lobbied for it. Douglas owned land near the terminal in Chicago. Lincoln was a lawyer for the railroad. Illinois legislators appointed Samuel D. Lockwood , recently retired from the Illinois Supreme Court (who may have given both lawyers
2254-595: Was never among the top performers on this route. Illinois Central's largest passenger terminal, Central Station , stood at 12th Street east of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Due to the railroad's north–south route from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, Illinois Central passenger trains were one means of transport during the African American Great Migration of the 1920s. Illinois Central's most famous train
2303-574: Was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.58 inches (40 mm) in January to 4.34 inches (110 mm) in July. As of the 2010 Census , there were 677,560 people, 225,256 households, and 174,062 families residing in the county. The population density was 809.6 inhabitants per square mile (312.6/km ). There were 237,501 housing units at an average density of 283.8 per square mile (109.6/km ). The racial makeup of
2352-454: Was the Panama Limited , a premier all-Pullman car service between Chicago and New Orleans, with a section breaking off at Carbondale to serve St. Louis. In 1949, it added a daytime all-coach companion, the City of New Orleans , which operated with a St. Louis section breaking off at Carbondale and a Louisville section breaking off at Fulton, Kentucky . In 1967, due to losses incurred by
2401-414: Was the longest railroad in the world. Its main line went from Cairo, Illinois , at the southern tip of the state, to Galena , in the northwest corner. A branch line went from Centralia (named for the railroad), to the rapidly growing city of Chicago . In Chicago, its tracks were laid along the shore of Lake Michigan and on an offshore causeway downtown, but land-filling and natural deposition have moved
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