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Will County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. This county is part of Chicagoland. As of 2000, the population was 502,266.
The county seat of Will County is Joliet, Illinois. The towns in the northern part of the county form the southern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois while the southern part of the county contains small towns and farmland.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,200 km² (849 mi²). 2,168 km² (837 mi²) of it is land and 32 km² (12 mi²) of it (1.47%) 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.
The 17,000 acre (69 km²) Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie 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 & Wildlife Area.
Adjacent Counties
- DuPage County and Cook County (north)
- Lake County, Indiana (east)
- Kankakee County (south)
- Grundy County (southwest)
- Kendall County (west)
- Kane County (northwest)
History
Will County was formed in 1836 out of Cook, Iroquois and Vermilion Counties. It was named after Dr. Conrad Will, a businessman and politician who used slaves in his southern Illinois salt production. A law allowed slaves to be leased from other states and used in the free state of Illinois only for salt production.
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 232/km² (600/mi²). There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 81/km² (210/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.83% White, 10.45% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.63% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. 8.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 167,542 households out of which 42.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.80% were non-families. 17.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the county the population was spread out with 30.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 32.90% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 8.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $62,238, and the median income for a family was $69,608. Males had a median income of $50,152 versus $31,345 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,613. About 3.40% of families and 4.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.60% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.
Townships
- Channahon Township
- Crete Township
- Custer Township
- DuPage Township
- Florence Township
- Frankfort Township
- Green Garden Township
- Homer Township
- Jackson Township
- Joliet Township
- Lockport Township
- Manhattan Township
- Monee Township
- New Lenox Township
- Peotone Township
- Plainfield Township
- Reed Township
- Troy Township
- Washington Township
- Wesley Township
- Wheatland Township
- Will Township
- Wilmington Township
- Wilton Township
Municipalities
- Aurora - partly in DuPage, Kane, and Kendall County
- Beecher
- Bolingbrook - small section in DuPage County
- Braidwood
- Channahon
- Crest Hill
- Crete
- Crystal Lawns
- Elwood
- Fairmont
- Frankfort
- Frankfort Square
- Goodings Grove
- Homer Glen
- Ingalls Park
- Joliet - small section in Kendall County
- Lakewood Shores
- Lockport
- Manhattan
- Mokena
- Monee
- Naperville - partly in DuPage County
- New Lenox
- Park Forest - partly in Cook County
- Peotone
- Plainfield
- Preston Heights
- Rockdale
- Romeoville
- Sauk Village - primarily in Cook County, very small parcel in Will County
- Shorewood
- Steger - partly in Cook County
- Symerton
- Tinley Park - primarily in Cook County, very small parcel in Will County
- University Park - partly in Cook County
- Willowbrook - is an unincorporated census-designated place, not to be confused with the Village of Willowbrook, Illinois.
- Wilmington
- Woodridge - partly in DuPage and a small parcel in Cook County
Historic Sites
The following sites, in Will County, Illinois, are on the National Register of Historic Places Listing:
1 Briscoe Mounds Address Restricted Channahon 1978-12-22
2 Christ Episcopal Church 75 W. Van Buren St. Joliet 1982-08-12
3 Eagle Hotel 100--104 Water St. Wilmington 1994-02-16
4 Fitzpatrick House IL 53 Lockport 1984-02-09
5 Flanders House 405 W. Main St. Plainfield 1991-11-14
6 George, Ron, Round Barn NE of Romeoville off US 66 Romeoville 1982-12-07 Round Barns in Illinois TR
7 Heck, John, House 1225 S. Hamilton St. Lockport 1994-08-16
8 Henry, Jacob H., House 20 S. Eastern Ave. Joliet 1979-05-14
9 Illinois and Michigan Canal 7 mi. SW of Joliet on U.S. 6, in Channahon State Park Joliet 1966-10-15
10 Joliet East Side Historic District Roughly bounded by Washington and Union Sts., 4th and Eastern Aves. Joliet 1980-08-15
11. Beecher Mausoleum, Cemetery Drive, Beecher, IL ( next to St, Luke's cemetery )
External links
- Will County Republican Central Committee
- Will County Democratic Organization
- Will County Green Party
- Will County Libertarian Party
Illinois counties | Will County, Illinois | Chicago metropolitan area
"Will County, Illinois"