Crime Scene and Trauma Cleanup in Channahon, IL

Channahon is a village in Will and Grundy counties in Illinois, southwest of Joliet; its name is a Potawatomi word meaning "Meeting of the Waters."

True to its name, Channahon sits where the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers join and the DuPage River flows in, forming the head of the Illinois River.

Archaeological evidence shows the Channahon area was inhabited by Mound Builders as long as 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, and the Potawatomi lived there until white settlers arrived in 1832.

When construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal began in 1836, Channahon was chosen as the site of two of the canal's locks; Myrvin Benjamin platted the settlement in 1845, first calling it Du Page, and it was officially named Channahon in 1850.

Channahon first incorporated in 1896 but dissolved its government in 1908 to escape liability after an automobile fell into the DuPage River when a bridge failed; the village did not reincorporate until December 11, 1961.

The 2020 census counted 13,383 people in Channahon, and Census Bureau data shows about 4,550 households with a large average size of about 3.1 people per household.

Channahon State Park, where the I&M Canal meets the DuPage River, preserves the historic canal locks - including the locktender's house at Lock No. 6 - and the I&M Canal trail corridor.

The Channahon Park District, formed in 1971, maintains the village's parks and operates the Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club, serving more than 20,000 residents in and around the village.

Channahon grew rapidly once industry arrived in the 1970s along its two interstate highways, gaining a Mobil oil refinery, petrochemical plants and a major soybean oil facility; its population grew 71 percent between 2000 and 2010 alone.

In 2000, the southern terminus of a major natural gas pipeline bringing Canadian gas to the Chicago area was built in Channahon, reinforcing its role as an energy and freight hub.