Walkers' Grove: Will County's Oldest Community, Built on a Riverbank
Plainfield began as Walkers' Grove, the oldest community in Will County, established on the banks of the DuPage River by 1828, when James Walker -- son-in-law of Methodist missionary Rev. Jesse Walker, who had established a mission to the Potawatomi in 1826 -- built a sawmill there. Walkers' Grove grew as a stop on the Chicago-Ottawa stagecoach road, and the 'Halfway House' inn was built there in 1834; that same year, Chester Ingersoll platted the Village of Plainfield immediately to the north, and by 1841 the combined settlement was known simply as Plainfield.
A Sawmill Town's Relationship With Its River
A sawmill only works where the river can turn it, so Plainfield's earliest buildings were sited with the DuPage River's flow and water level in mind from the start. That legacy still matters for basement work today: Will County lies within the broader Des Plaines River watershed, where regional stormwater planning describes basement flooding and sewer backup, not surface ponding, as the common outcome when a property sits near a waterway's floodplain.
Project Paths
Planning a Basement Waterproofing Project Near Plainfield's River-Bank Core
For homes closer to Plainfield's original riverbank settlement, a written scope should confirm how grading, gutters, and any interior drainage will handle water during high-flow periods on the DuPage, not only during an average rain.