Van Horne

Queen Knighted Railroad Tycoon from Joliet

The History of Joliet – Chapter 22 By John Whiteside of The Herald News (used with permission) Submitted by Nancy Vargo “William Cornelius VAN HORNE once told a friend that the only religion he practiced was the golden rule. He said he was about the only man in business who did practice it.” By John WHITESIDE of The Herald News One night in 1864, William Cornelius VAN HORNE was working the telegraph station at the railroad station in Joliet when a young woman stepped off the late train from Chicago. She was a beauty, and there was no one there … Read more

Several Suspected in Murder Mystery

The History of Joliet – Chapter 7 By John Whiteside of The Herald News (used with permission) Submitted by Nancy Vargo City’s first mayor nearly hanged by citizens “The excitement was intense and the public opinion divided,” Woodruff wrote. “And in the excitement and division of sentiment, many were ready to hang Van Horne without judge or jury.” By John WHITESIDE of The Herald News Elected in 1852, Cornellius C. VAN HORNE was Joliet’s very first mayor. But he was lucky the residents didn’t hang him a few years before that election. VAN HORNE was one of the city’s first … Read more

Joliet: Our Town, Our History

The History of Joliet – Introduction By John Whiteside of The Herald News (used with permission) Submitted by Nancy Vargo Did you know? City’s vibrant story leaps off page “Our city’s founders were just plain people with the same kind of worries and concerns we often have today. But in living their lives here, they solved their problems, raised their families and built a great city.” By John WHITESIDE of The Herald News Did you know? The good citizens of Joliet in 1858 almost lynched an innocent man. They thought he had corrupted and then brutally murdered a 16-year-old girl. … Read more