Dawn Aulet

Channahon and Minooka (Images of America) Dawn Aulet

The villages of Channahon and Minooka sit side by side, with Channahon in Will and Grundy Counties and Minooka in Will, Grundy, and Kendall Counties. Channahon was settled to take advantage of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and Minooka was formed around a number of railroads. It was the canal that helped shape Channahon in both positive and negative ways. The town first incorporated in the early 1900s. After a car plunged into the canal while crossing a bridge that collapsed, the owners of the vehicle sued the village. In order to protect its assets, the village unincorporated and then reincorporated in 1962. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, later known only as the Rock-Island Line, ran through Minooka from Chicago to Ottawa. The towns original name, Summit, was given because the line reached its highest point there until the 1920s when the tracks were lowered.