Local History Collection
Plainfield Enterprise
Searchable every-name database for digital copies of the Plainfield Enterprise from 1957-2012.
Maps and Atlases
Digitized Will County Atlas and Plat Books for 1873, 1893, and 1909.
Yearbooks
Plainsman Yearbooks from 1949-2000.
Plainsman K-8 Yearbooks from 1972-1995.
Phone Directories
Local phone directories – 1925-1955
Plainfield History
Brief overview of the history of the Village of Plainfield.
Plainfield Tornado Collection
First-person accounts, stories, interviews and photos of the 1990 F5 tornado.
The Plainfield Local History Collection Contains:
Local History Brochures
Click on each item to download Local History brochure.
Books, Directories, Yearbooks
- Christ Episcopal Church Records (Joliet) 1838-1856
- City Directories for Plainfield and Lockport 1973-1993
- City Directories for Joliet 1900, 1927, 1932, 1966-Present
- Farmer’s Directory of Will and Southern Cook Counties, Illinois 1918
- Fifteen Years Ago or the Patriotism of Will County 1876
- Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County 1900
- History of the Plainfield Fire Department 1888-1990
- History of Will County Illinois by August Maue
- History of Will County Illinois by George Woodruff 1878
- Methodist Episcopal Church Directory 1889
- Necrology of Will County Pioneers 1886-1890, 1890-1897, 1897-1902
- Past and Present of Will County by W.W. Stevens
- Plainfield Enterprise Weekly Newspaper bound copies 1966-Present
- Plainfield High School Yearbooks 1949-2010 (1949-2000 available online)
- Plainfield Then and Now: Plainfield Historical Society
- Plainfield Township Record Book 1850-1940
- Plainfield Village Auditor’s Record 1898-1908
- Plainfield Village Minutes 1897-1915
- Plainfield Village Phonebooks 1924-1956
- Portrait and Biographical Album of Will County, Illinois 1890
- Souvenir of Settlement and Progress of Will County
- Will County Bicentennial Commemorative Edition by the Will County Bicentennial Committee
- Will County Register of Pioneers: Will-Grundy Counties Genealogical Society
Electronic Resources
- Illinois Digital Archives Plainfield Collection
- Will County Property Transaction Index (3 volumes alphabetical by surname) 1836—1885
- Miles V. Hartong Glass Plate Negative Collection Images courtesy of the Plainfield Historical Society
- 1873 Combination Atlas/Map of Will County
- 1909 Combination Atlas/Map of Will County
- Shorewood Sentinel Newspapers 1961-1963
- Plainfield Genealogy Index: includes all major published Will County Genealogy and History Books. **Available within the library at the Local History Computer**
- America's GenealogyBank: Easily search and browse more than a billion genealogy records from 1690 to the present, including obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements, casualty lists, military & government documents, and more. (PAPL card required)
- Ancestry Library Edition: One of the most important genealogical collections available today, it offers unparalleled coverage of the United States and the United Kingdom, including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada and other areas. Includes approximately 4,000 databases, more than 1,000 historical maps, and billions of names! (PAPL card required)
- Chicago Daily News Archive: Full-text Chicago Daily News newspapers from 1875 - 1978. (PAPL card required)
- Chicago Tribune Historical Archive: Search for full-text articles or front-page news from the historical archives of the Chicago Tribune. Includes obituaries and death notices. (PAPL card required)
- Family Search: Digital images of many LDS microfilm reels are now available for viewing at affiliate libraries. Access to these images is available to patrons within the Plainfield Library.
- HeritageQuest: Genealogy resource that combines digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records with the digitized version of the popular UMI Genealogy & Local History Collection and other valuable content. (PAPL card required)
Family Histories
- Birkett, Daniel Family History
- Breitzkey, Yahnke, Keene family History
- Burnet, James Family History Countryman Family History
- Hall-Patterson Family History of Kirtlehead Dumfriesshire, Scotland
- Johnson family History including Grants, Rangles and McDonald Families
- Parker Family Genealogy
- Patterson, Davis-Funk, Brown, Walker and Billerica-Danforth Family Histories
- Pike, James of Charleston, Reading Massachusetts
- Pilcher Family History
- Schaeffer Family Genealogy
Maps
- 1873 Combination Atlas/Map of Will County
- 1893 Plat Book of Will County, Illinois by George Ogle and Company
- 1909 Combination Atlas/Map of Will County
- Rural Historic Structures Guide: Channahon Township January 2010
- Rural Historic Structures Guide: DuPage Township November 2001
- Rural Historic Structures Guide: Joliet and Troy Townships January 2010
- Rural Historic Structures Guide: Plainfield, Wheatland and Lockport Townships November 2000
- Village of Plainfield Historic Urbanized Core Survey November 2006
- Village of Plainfield Rural Structures Guide (includes Wheatland, Oswego and Na Au Say Townships) May 2006
Microfilm
- Chicago City Directories 1885-1928
- U.S. Federal Census microfilm 1820, 1840-1880, 1900-1930
- U.S. Federal Census Mortality Index microfilm 1860 & 1880
- Illinois Civil War Military Census 1862
- Joliet newspapers (weeklies & dailies) January 1849-March 1940
- Kendall County Recorder Newspaper May 1864–August 1933
- Plainfield Enterprise Weekly Newspaper 1893-present (Incomplete)
- Kendall County Births 1877-1903
- Kendall County Deaths 1877-1903
- Kendall County Marriages 1877-1903
- Will County Births/Delayed Births 1868-1902
- Will County Deaths 1877-1900, 1907-1914, 1926-1937
- Will County Marriages 1844-1928
- Will County Probate Files 1855-1900 (various years)
Periodicals
Regional Periodicals
- The Messenger (Plainfield Historical Society Newsletter)
- Will-Grundy Genealogical Society Quarterly and bimonthly newsletter (Will-Grundy Counties Genealogical Society)
- Chicago Genealogist (Quarterly for the Chicago Genealogical Society
State Periodicals
- Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly and bimonthly newsletter (Illinois State Genealogical Society)
- Illinois Heritage ( Illinois State Historical Society)
- Historic Illinois (Illinois State Historic Preservation Association)
Plainfield Area Cemetery Indexes
- Plainfield Township Cemetery Ledgers 1837—2010
- Plainfield Township Cemetery Card-file Index 1837–1993
- St Mary Immaculate Cemetery File to 2005 (excel file)
- Vermont Cemetery Tombstone Project: by Espie Nelson
- Wheatland Township Cemetery File (Excel file)
- Wheatland Presbyterian Cemetery File Including Chronology 1838—1998 (Word Document)
Other Local Cemetery Indexes
- Aux Sable Cemetery Index Kendall County
- Aux Sable Cemetery Index Grundy County
- Barnet Cemetery: Homer Township Records
- Cowdrey Cemetery Kendall County
- Evergreen Cemetery (Oswego Prairie Church) Kendall County
- Oakwood Cemetery Joliet (2 Volumes) Will County
- Oakwood Cemetery Wilmington
- Pavilion Cemetery Kendall County
Tornado Collection
- Tornado photographs, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks
- Black Sky: Plainfield Tornado, August 28, 1990 by Tina Beaird
- Winds of Fury by the Joliet Herald News