Channahon

History

Archaeological evidence suggests that the land on which the village now stands was inhabited as long as three to four thousand years ago by Mound Builders. When white settlers arrived in the early 1830s, the region was populated by Potawatomi, with whom the early settlers had friendly relations. The settlers began to call the area "Channahon," a Potawatomi phrase translated as "meeting of the waters." When construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal began in 1836, Channahon's location was chosen as the site for two of the waterway's locks. In 1845, Myrvin Benjamin plotted a new settlement to take advantage of the two rivers and the almost-completed canal surrounding the location. At first called "Du Page," the settlement was officially named Channahon when the township government was organized in 1850. By the 1870s Channahon was home to a growing population and contained a post office, a schoolhouse, a Methodist church, two blacksmithies, and several stores. The community prospered until the rise of railroad transportation in the late 19th century caused commerce and population in the canal town to diminish. The Village of Channahon was first incorporated in 1896, but dissolved in 1908 to avoid liability after an automobile fell into the DuPage River due to a bridge failure. Becoming a mainly agricultural community after the decline of canal commerce, Channahon saw slow growth in the first half of the 20th century. the area was reincorporated as the Village of Channahon. In the following decades, Channahon's proximity to two major interstates, I-80 and I-55, resulted in the village's rapid industrialization—notably including such facilities as a Mobil oil refinery, two petrochemical plants, a soybean oil production facility, an Amazon (company warehouse…

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Channahon has a total area of , of which (or 92.50%) is land and (or 7.50%) is water. Channahon borders the neighboring communities of Minooka, Shorewood, Joliet, Elwood, Wilmington, and Morris. Channahon experiences cold winters with plenty of snow. Its summers are hot and humid, with cooling rains occurring frequently. The temperatures vary from 18 °F to 84 °F on average, with extremes reaching -2 °F and 92 °F on average. Cloud coverage in Channahon varies from month to month. The time of the year with the most clouds is October 27 to June 13. The cloudiest month on average is December, and the least cloudy month on average is August. Channahon has differing amounts of precipitation throughout the year. The time with the most rain is between March 27 to September 24. The month with the most precipitation is June.

Race & ethnicity