Will County News

Wilmington, Illinois, November 27, 2010 The Island City sparkled Saturday night for the annual holiday parade. Citizens gathered to mark the season as a parade made its way down South Water Street, where restaurants and antiques shops welcomed everyone. Of course, plenty of excitement filled the air as Santa made his way into town. After the parade, there were carols in the new gazebo at Claire’s Corner, and real reindeer visited. The lighting of the tree made the downtown park a splendid place for visiting and enjoying the early evening festivities. Christmas lights at the Holiday Parade in Downtown Wilmington Wilmington VFW Post 5422 leads the Wilmington Holiday Parade through downtown Wilmington The mayor of Wilmington Illinois at the Holiday Parade Santa arrives on a horse-drawn carriage at the Wilmington Holiday Parade The Wilmington Community Christmas Tree  Reindeer arrive at the end of the Wilmington Holiday Parade

Wilmington, Illinois is kicking off the holiday season with a lighted holiday parade Saturday, November 27th.  The parade starts at 4:30 p.m. No alcohol will be allowed during the parade line-up or during the parade itself. According to the Wilmington, Illinois website , no live Santas are allowed as Santa Claus will arrive in Wilmington for the parade. The community tree will be lighted following the parade. If you are looking to grab a bite to eat in Wilmington, willcountynews recommends Hayden's Crossing, one of the most unique restaurants in Will County.  Located in Downtown Wilmington, Hayden's Crossing was made from recycled barn lumber.  You can see pictures of the barn and the process of using the barn wood for the restaurant on Hayden's Crossing's website . Hayden's Crossing's name also refers to an important piece of Will County History.  As this 1909 plat map of Florence Township shows, Hayden's Station--in section 1--was inside the foot

The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is the largest tallgrass prairie east of the Mississippi River.  It is also one of the largest one-space prairies in Northeastern Illinois. Midewin has a variety of trails open to the public.  There are several picnic areas.  There are flush toilets at the Midewin Welcome Center on Rt. 53 and port-a-potties along major trails.  Check out the Midewin Trail Map Page for more info.   On our hike, we did not see any drinking fountains or other source of water, so you should make sure you bring plenty of water with you. Willcountynews recently hiked out to Turtle Pond, parking at the Hoff Road Trailhead and walking down the Old Chicago Road to get to Turtle Pond.  Here's what we saw! Old Chicago Road in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Field of winter wheat in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Old fire hydrant in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie on Old Chicago Road.  When the Prairie was the Joliet Army Ammuni

The New York Times ran an article today profiling a Joliet resident who lives near the Midwest Generation  power plant.

I love old Farmhouses.  This is the beginning of an occasional series documenting many differing types of farmhouses throughout Will County.  We will begin with the American Foursquare.  American Four Square in rural Peotone Township, Will County, Illinois. According to the Will County Historic Preservation Rural Structure Survery : " The American Foursquare  was introduced around 1900 and continued to be popular until the 1920s.  It consists of a two to two-and-a-half story block with a roughly square floor plan with four rooms on each floor.  Roofs are hipped or pyramidal, with dormer windows (hipped and gable) on at least the  front elevation and sometimes the side and rear elevations. Foursquares usually have front porches, but they may also have bay windows (some extending both stories) and one story rear additions.   Many Foursquares were built from plans developed by local lumber companies or mail order sources that  advertised in farm journals; others were purcha

November 6, 2012 Will County Election Results  has results for all county-wide races such as Will County Executive, Will County State's Attorney, and the Will County Board. For congressional results: Go here for Illinois 11th Congressional District results. For Illinois 2nd Congressional results, go here .