Plainfield Halfway House

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Plainfield Halfway House

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Plainfield Halfway House in 2011
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Location 503 Main Street
Plainfield, Will County, Illinois, United States
Coordinates 41°36′41″N88°12′15″W / 41.61139°N 88.20417°W / 41.61139; -88.20417 Coordinates: 41°36′41″N88°12′15″W / 41.61139°N 88.20417°W / 41.61139; -88.20417
NRHP reference # 80001421
Added to NRHP September 29, 1980

The Plainfield Halfway House is a historic building in Plainfield, Illinois. Plainfield was first settled in the 1820s by a group seeking to convert the local Pottawatomie to Christianity. Squire L. F. Arnold, the first postmaster of Plainfield, owned the tract of land on which the building stands. In 1834, he built a small building to serve as a post office and a stop for stagecoaches. The property was sold in 1836, and a two-story building was constructed adjacent to the original structure. This new structure operated as a tavern and inn. The inn earned its name by being halfway on the stagecoach line between Chicago and Ottawa. A year later, Dr. Erastus Wight became manager of the establishment, running it until his death in 1845. His son, Dr. Roderick Wight, took over from his father and purchased the building in 1850. He added a one-story addition to the back of the inn later that year.

Plainfield, Illinois Village in Illinois, United States

Plainfield is a village in Will and Kendall counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 39,581 at the 2010 census and an estimated 43,926 in 2017.

Illinois State of the United States of America

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern and Great Lakes region of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.

Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the New Testament. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament.

The inn's large size made it an ideal site to conduct town affairs. It was used as a meeting hall in its early years and became the main location for Plainfield social events. The Plainfield Light Artillery used the building as a headquarters from 1856 until the Civil War. The building ceased to function as an inn starting in 1886, and was converted into a private residence. It was home to the decedents of the Wight family until 1956. The original building that served stagecoach passengers was demolished in the 1940s. The remaining building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 29, 1980.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

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