Mount Joliet

     A striking example of the negative effects of human activity on nature is the history of Mount Joliet.  This hill like area was variously known as Mount Juliet, Mount Joliet, Mound Juliet or Mount Joliet.  

     This hill was located in the area between I 80 and US 6 south of Joliet near the DesPlaines River. It was 450 yards long and 60 feet high. It was created by the activity of the Wisconsin Glacier.  It was composed of clay and gravel.   Native Americans inhabited the Mount for hundreds of years.  In the 1670’s, Marquette and Joliet discovered this site and camped there.  French Canadiens voyageurs used this as a landmark for their travels    Starting before the Civil War, a company named Joliet Mound Drainage Tile Company began a quarrying operation on the Mound for its clay and gravel.   The company manufactured tiles and sewer pipes.  The gravel was used for fill and railroad ballast.  These products were shipped on the I and M Canal.  

The quarrying operation ended in 1912.  The gravel and clay were depleted.  The site of the Mound was now an area of depression.   The local historical society placed a marker near this site at Larkin and Mound Street in Joliet.

Joliet Mound Drain Tile Company