Near Rockdale in Will County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Joliet Mound

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 9, 2023

1. Joliet Mound Marker

Inscription. This is the site of Mont Joliet, a national eminence named for the explorer Louis Jolliet. 140 feet above the Des Plaines River bed. First shown on a 1674 map the mound served for almost 175 years as a landmark for measuring distances on the river route from Chicago to the Mississippi. The mound has since been leveled by quarrying of clay contents.

Erected 1971 by Will County Historical Society • Illinois State Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Exploration • Natural Features • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Illinois State Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1974.

Location. 41° 29.979′ N, 88° 7.459′ W. Marker is near Rockdale, Illinois, in Will County. It is on South Larkin Avenue (Illinois Route 7) south of Mound Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1655 S Larkin Ave, Joliet IL 60436, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also

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in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: McDonough Street Bridge (approx. 2.2 miles away); Natividad Guiterrez (approx. 2.4 miles away); Edwin Porter's Brewery (approx. 2½ miles away); Joliet/Juliet's First Log Cabin (approx. 2.6 miles away); "Bluff Street" (approx. 2.6 miles away); Joliet's First Stone Building (approx. 2.6 miles away); A Corridor in Time: The Illinois and Michigan Canal (approx. 2.6 miles away); Bicentennial Park (approx. 2.6 miles away).

Regarding Joliet Mound. Composed of sand, gravel and clay deposits, the mound stood some 60 feet high and was 450 yards long and 75 yards wide. It was formed naturally, and not by Indians as some early explorers and settlers had surmised, but the mound was the site of a pivotal moment in Native American history. During a peace

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 9, 2023

2. Joliet Mound Marker

council there in 1769, Illinois Chief Kineboo killed Ottawa Chief Pontiac, sparking further armed conflict that ended with the almost-total destruction of the Illinois at Starved Rock. The completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 reduced the mound's usefulness as a marine landmark, and a decade later the Joliet Mound Co. began excavating the mound's gravel for streets and its clay for bricks. Within two decades the mound was gone.

Joliet Mound image. Click for full size.

Henry Inman via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division (Public Domain), circa 1825

3. Joliet Mound

This illustration appeared in Travels in the central portions of the Mississippi Valley by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, leader of the U.S. government expedition.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 19, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 2,440 times since then and 335 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 19, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.