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Wilmington Township, farms and factories

Published by admin on Mon, 02/09/2026 - 10:43am

Wilmington Township’s first settler, Thomas Cox, did not go there to farm. He went there to harness the Kankakee River’s power to run mills. Those mills however, depended on the surrounding farms for grain and wool. A symbiotic relationship that still exists today.
In 1836 Cox set up a town where an Indian trail crossed a shallow spot on the Kankakee. He arrived with his own work crew, his son and 5 sons-in-law, and laid out a town he called Winchester in Sections 25 and 36.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Irish in all of us

Published by admin on Mon, 02/09/2026 - 10:38am

In 1836, the year Will County was formed, a group of Irish coal miners in Pennsylvania founded an organization called the Ancient Order of Hibernians, mainly in response to bigotry against both the Irish and the Catholics. By 1874 the Irish coal miners of Braidwood had formed a very active Braidwood Division. Today we set the way-back machine to August 15, 1879 when Braidwood was the center of Hibernian activity.

IL budget under constant federal siege

Published by admin on Sun, 02/08/2026 - 1:50pm

Gov. JB Pritzker announced a plan last week to “manage Illinois pension commitments through a set of proposals designed to build on the state’s recent fiscal progress and further reduce long-term risk for taxpayers and retirees.”
The price tag, however, is already giving one legislative leader pause. And “fiscal progress” is not the reality when factoring in federal funds.

A trip to Na-be-na-qui-nong

Published by admin on Mon, 02/02/2026 - 12:02pm

Today we are going to take a short trip, a little to the east and north, to visit a place whose original history is lost to time. But our time together is short, so set the way-back machine to the late 1790's, destination - Na-be-na-qui-nong, or as later folks knew it - Twelve Mile Grove.

Democratic US Senate candidates debate

Published by admin on Sun, 02/01/2026 - 1:24pm

The top three Democratic U.S. Senate candidates faced off twice last week.
The first debate wasn’t televised, so the live audience was quite small. The second debate was televised, so the audience was bigger.
However, these debates don’t attract even a smidgeon of the audience of presidential debates, when half the country often tunes in.
The object here is to generate video clips for TV ads and social media promotion, and to manage conventional news coverage, which can then be used in ads. Like it or not, that’s where most people will be exposed to the debates.

Eating out in early Braidwood

Published by admin on Sat, 01/31/2026 - 2:14pm

I guess we all know that Braidwood's history is not like other towns. She sprung up like a mushroom on the prairie. A good portion of her citizens were poor coal miners, most single men, who slept in boarding houses and spent their time off drinking in one of the many saloons. But surely there were restaurants where they could stop to have a bite. I reviewed my files and found an interesting thing. There were no restaurants per se in early Braidwood until 1879, while Wilmington had dozens. Why?

And they're off, it's a grand old sport

Published by admin on Mon, 01/26/2026 - 11:24am

I believe that there are certain behaviors in human beings around the world that are some how hard wired into us. And I believe that racing is one of those things. Whether we are racing cars, airplanes, bicycles, horses, chariots or sleds, we love to race. How many times have you heard kids say, "I'll race you to that tree!" No one taught them that, it seems to come naturally. Today we will confine ourselves to horse racing and all the things that come with it.

A really good snow storm, welcome winter

Published by admin on Mon, 01/26/2026 - 11:23am

Well, there's no denying it's here; winter that is. And while we haven't had much snow yet, it will be coming I am sure. And when it does we will all be put in a state of anxiety by weather men and others, warning of the terrible weather to come. Back in 1878 they had no warning, but in spite of that, they didn't panic or wring their hands, instead they really enjoyed a “really good snow storm.”

Indiana may be first to decide on Bears stadium

Published by admin on Sun, 01/25/2026 - 12:04pm

Illinois House Democrats were told last week that a state capital projects plan designed to assist Arlington Height’s bid to lure the Chicago Bears away from their Indiana stadium gambit would cost up to $895 million.
None of the money would be used to directly build the new Bears stadium or the surrounding commercial district envisioned by the team’s ownership.

Riding the C & A, always something new

Published by admin on Mon, 01/19/2026 - 10:38am

In the 1850's, before Braidwood existed, it was obvious to all that a rail connection between Chicago and Springfield, and to southern Illinois was neccessarry. Nelson Elwood and his financial backers, built what was originally the Chicago & Mississippi Railroad to fill that need. The first town south of Joliet was named after him.