Braidwood
City
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Will
Coordinates	41°16′19″N 88°13′6″W / 41.27194, -88.21833
Area	4.8 sq mi (12 km²)
- land	4.8 sq mi (12 km²)
Population	5,203 (2000)
Density	1,124.0 /sq mi (434 /km²)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60408
Area code	815/779
Location of Braidwood within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Braidwood, Illinois

Vending machine shaped like a gas pump at the Polk-A-Dot Drive-In in Braidwood.

Braidwood is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, approximately 53 miles southwest of Chicago and 18 miles south of Joliet. The population was 5,203 at the 2000 census.

Braidwood is the site of the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station, a nuclear power plant currently owned by Exelon Corporation. It is one of the major employers in the area and provides much of the electricity used in the Chicago area.

Geography

Braidwood is located at 41°16′19″N, 88°13′6″W (41.271982, -88.218221).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.3 km²), of which, 4.6 square miles (12.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (2.73%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 5,203 people, 1,843 households, and 1,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,124.0 people per square mile (433.9/km²). There were 2,305 housing units at an average density of 497.9/sq mi (192.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.48% White, 0.27% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.79% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.83% of the population.

There were 1,843 households out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males.

Early History

In 1864, a farmer digging for water at the site of the present city found coal instead. Deposits were substantial and the demand for coal in nearby Chicago was high, so companies rushed to acquire land and set up operations. A mining boomtown sprang up, a post office was established in 1867, and the community was called Keeversville, The Grove. James Braidwood was an early member of the community, and in 1872 he was hired by one company to superintend the sinking of the first deep mine shaft. The addition of more deep-shaft mines followed, and on March 4, 1873 the city was incorporated^[3] and named in Braidwood's honor. There was an initial population of about 2,000 that would grow to 8,000, making Braidwood the second largest city in Will County at that time.

Businesses and the lives of residents were centered around the coal mines, with economic prosperity and depression occurring in their turn. Mines cut back operations during summer months, when warm weather reduced the demand for coal, leaving many miners unemployed. The disputes between coal companies and miners over wages and working conditions were always rancorous and often violent, typical for the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

There was a combination of ethnicities, providing religious and cultural diversity. At first most miners were Americans or immigrants from northern Europe. African Americans arrived from West Virginia, and many later residents would arrive as immigrants from eastern and southern Europe.

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Notable People

• Anton Cermak, a Bohemian immigrant who would become mayor of Chicago, was a miner in Braidwood in his early years.
• Samantha Keca, Homecoming Queen of Illinois 2004, claims Braidwood as her hometown.
• Artie Matthews, a songwriter, pianist, and ragtime composer, was born in Braidwood in 1888.
• John Mitchell, early UMW president, was born in Braidwood in 1870 (before incorporation) and worked in the local mines in his childhood.

Recent Controversy

The Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station has been the subject of recent controversy surrounding the discovery of tritium contamination in the local groundwater. [1], [2]

Notes

External links

• Braidwood, Illinois is at coordinates 41°16′19″N 88°13′06″W / 41.271982, -88.218221 (Braidwood, Illinois)Coordinates: 41°16′19″N 88°13′06″W / 41.271982, -88.218221 (Braidwood, Illinois)

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