Overview

Located within the Des Plaines River valley in Illinois, Lemont became a village in 1873. The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened transportation opportunities and led to the discovery of dolomite limestone (known locally as Athens marble). Quarrying limestone became Lemont's leading industry, and it was used for buildings throughout the region, including Chicago's famous Water Tower. Canal workers made Lemont a capital of vice in the 1890s with bars and brothels located in the area known as Smokey Row. Downtown Lemont boasts well-preserved commercial buildings from this period. Historic homes and church steeples are nestled into the valley bluff, reflecting the community's devotion to faith, civic pride, and traditions such as the Keepataw Parade. Today, the area's industrial past is being rediscovered and repurposed for recreational uses in its quarries and along miles of trails that connect Lemont to the rest of the region.

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9781467160582

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Kevin Barron is a special education teacher and creator of the free Chicagoland historic resources organization SouthCookExplore. Jason Berry is the economic and community development director for the Village of Lemont and a board member of the Lemont Area Historical Society. The images for this book were selected from the Lemont Area Historical Society archives and library. For over 50 years, the society and its museum have kept Lemont's history a vital part of its continued discovery.

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