Plainfield is Will County's oldest community. The area along the DuPage River was originally home to the Potawatomi Indians. By 1830, a small settlement called Walker's Grove was developed along the DuPage River south of where the village is located today. During the Black Hawk War, these settlers constructed and took refuge at Fort Beggs, named after Rev. Stephen Beggs. In 1834, the village of Plainfield was platted by Chester Ingersoll. This book spans the early settlement, the Civil War years, and the commercial development of the 19th century well into the 20th century and includes a...