Will County, Illinois

Founding: 1836
Parent counties: Cook, Iroquois, and unorganized territory

Namesake: Conrad Will, Illinois politician and physician
Seat: Joliet (1836–)

Land area: 837 square miles

Population (2020): 696,355

Population (historic): 10,167 (1840); 29,321 (1860); 53,422 (1880); 74,764 (1900); 110,732 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1840–2020

Subdivisions: Five cities; 20 villages; seven CDPs; 24 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 16,722 (6.8%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 56.5%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 14.2%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 5.4%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 4.5%
Average farmhouse value (1930): $2,700
Average outbuilding value (1930): $3,066

Average farmhouse size (1940): 7.2 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 3,385
Average farm size (1920): 127.3 acres
Sources of settlement: Germany, Ireland, New York, England, Pennsylvania, Scotland, and Ohio
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Joliet

Namesake: Louis Jolliet, French-Canadian explorer

Founding: 1834 (platting as Juliet); 1834 (post office); 1837 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 150,362

Population (historic): 2,558 (1840); 7,104 (1860); 11,657 (1880); 29,353 (1900); 42,993 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1834–1930; 1940–1970; 1990–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 6,849 (13.6%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. Elijah Gorham House (1865). 13044 Chicago–Bloomington Road. Homer. Italianate.
2. Patrick Fitzpatrick House (c. 1842). 15701 State Route 53. Lockport. Greek Revival.

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