Before European settlers arrived, much of Illinois was inhabited by the Illinois Confederation, a coalition of related Native American tribes. Unlike today’s fixed borders, tribal territories often overlapped, with members from various groups sometimes living together in the same village. The Illiniwek, meaning ‘men’ in the Algonquian language, formed an alliance with the French, who adapted their name to the present-day ‘Illinois.’ The Illini Confederation’s territory extended from Iowa in the west to the Ohio River in the south, and approximately to the current borders with Indiana in the east and Wisconsin in the north. Their alliance with the French ultimately contributed to their decline, as the French lost control of the land to the British following the French and Indian War. The Miami tribe also inhabited northeastern Illinois. Other tribal names familiar to Illinois residents i…
Passages that mention Wilmington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Will County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ..1878 · page 591Read the page →
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prairie. At the time of the first settlements in Channahon, much of it was timbered, and what is termed in other States, "open barrens." It lies in the western tier of townships, adjoining Grundy County, and is south of Troy and north of Wilmington Township, with a population in 1870, of 1,164 inhabitants. The Illinois & Michigan Canal, and the Chicago, Pekin & Southwestern Railroad pass through the town, and afford excellent shipping facilities for the large amount of grain and stock annually produced by its enterprising citizens. Upon the whole, Channahon may be set down as one of the wealthy
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The history of Will County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a directory of its real estate owners1878 · page 591Read the page →
Read the text
prairie. At the time of the first settlements in Channahon, much of it was timbered, and what is termed in other States, "open barrens." It lies in the western tier of townships, adjoining Grundy County, and is south of Troy and north of Wilmington Township, with a population in 1870, of 1,164 inhabitants. The Illinois & Michigan Canal, and the Chicago, Pekin & Southwestern Railroad pass through the town, and afi"ord excellent shipping facilities for the large amount of grain and stock annually produced by its enterprising citizens. Upon the whole, Channahon may be set down as one of the wealthy
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The history of Will County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ..1878 · page 541Read the page →
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at a distance of twenty-five miles were considered neighbors. Joseph Shoemaker, though mentioned here as a member of this settlement or colony, did not in reality settle in Jackson Township. He is usually accredited as the first settler of Wilmington Township ; but this, too, seems to be an error, as his cabin was just on the north side of the line subsequently located between Wilmington and Channahon. Reed, with the balance of his family, removed from the township more than twenty-five years ago, and while the country was yet indeed new. George Kirkpatrick and brother and James Hemphill lacked but a few months of being
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The history of Will County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a directory of its real estate owners1878 · page 452Read the page →
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Wilmington Township is a full Congressional town, consisting of thirty-six whole sections, and is bounded on the north by Channahon, on the east by Florence, on the south by Reed, Custer and Wesley, and on the west by Grundy County. The surface is gently undulating, and is covered in the vicinity of the river with timber. Some of the timber along the bank is of a good quahty and heavy growth, but at a distance from the stream it consists of small and seemingly stunted oak, unfit for much else than railroad ties and firewood. The township is crossed from southeast to northwest by the Kankakee, one of the
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