Author: Village of Bolingbrook Historic Preservation Commission

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015-06-22

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 143965199X

The intersection of I-55 and Illinois Route 53, a major north-south road in DuPage Township, became a stopping-off place for travelers after the US government paved Route 66, the "Mother Road," into four lanes in 1959. West Hill Construction Company, or rather "Mr. Dover," launched an advertising campaign that promised housing developments for a youthful population wanting their own home and wide-open spaces to raise children. A 1960 plat map filed in Will County shows the first five lots for Bolingbrook subdivision unit one along Route 53. Within five years, Westbury, Colonial Village, and King's Park were built, and 5,000 people accepted Mr. Dover's invitation to buy a home. Bolingbrook incorporated five years later in October 1965. Today, 50 years later, Bolingbrook contains 23,665 housing units spread over 25 square miles and is home to a diverse population of 74,411. How Bolingbrook grew from "Pathways of the Past and Future" to "A Place to Grow" is an interesting story to celebrate.