The New Student's Reference Work/Joliet

Joliet (jō′ lĭ-ĕt), a city in Will County, Ill., 36 miles from Chicago on Desplaines River, at the terminus of the Chicago Canal.  The rapids give water-power estimated to be sufficient to run machinery to employ 50,000 men.  Six railroads, the Illinois and Michigan Canal and an electric line to Chicago furnish transportation.  Pig iron, Bessemer steel, steelcars, steelrods, wire, nails, wirefence, tinplate, Corliss engines, steam boilers, stoves, agricultural implements, matches, horseshoes and wall paper are manufactured on an extensive scale.  The oatmeal works are the second largest in the world.  Stonequarrying is an important industry.  The 22 school buildings are made of Joliet limestone.  The township high-school building, recently completed at a cost of $225,000, is said to be the best equipped school-house in the state.  Other notable buildings are the Illinois Steel Company Athenæum (a clubhouse for workingmen), two hospitals, two academies and a public library.  The northern state penitentiary is located here.  Population 34,670.