Joliet Chamber of Commerce

Joliet’s rich history can be traced back to 1673, when the French explorer Louis Joliet and his voyageurs chose the area as an ideal settlement site. He saw the promise the river and its fertile deltas could provide to settlers, and wrote about this promising new land. In 1833, settlers finally began to arrive and quickly discovered that what Louis Joliet had written about the area was true. The fertile prairie soil, soft coal, ample lumber, and the river provided everything needed to farm, build homes, raise families, and establish businesses. The settlement continued to grow and prosper and was incorporated by the Illinois General Assembly in 1852.