History of Lyons
The story of Lyons
begins over three hundred years ago when this area was populated by the
Potawatomi, Miami and, occasionally, Iroquois.
The Native Americans recognized the area that would become Lyons and the
surrounding region as an excellent location for their homes. The Des Plaines
River gave them a convenient supply of water, transportation and fish.
The forests provided timber for fuel and lodgings. There was an abundant
quantity of fur-bearing animals including muskrat, raccoon, opossum,
squirrel, deer, wolf, rabbit, buffalo, elk, beaver and black bears. There
was an abundance of game birds, as well. Corn and other crops thrived in the
fertile soil.
The Native Americans traveled by canoe and left many trails along the Des
Plaines River and streams. The early European descended settlers had no
difficulty identifying these trails for they were all narrow, deep and
serpentine. For many centuries, the Native Americans traveled a short
portage to Lake Michigan and the further Great Lakes. This portage was
commonly known as the Chicago Portage.
The Chicago Portage was recognized for centuries as the shortest and most
direct route between the St. Lawrence River and the Mississippi River and
the further Gulf of Mexico. Upon learning of a "Great River" in the west,
the Governor of New France, Comte de Frontenac, sent Louis Joliet to
discover and explore the river. On May 17, 1672, Louis Joliet, Pere
Marquette and five other voyagers began a long journey from St. Ignace,
Mackinaw Strait, to locate the "Great River," the Mississippi. Pere
Marquette's purpose was to reveal the Roman Catholic religion to the
natives, while Joliet's task was to establish trade for the French.
The small party's route took them through Lake Michigan to Green Bay, the
Fox and Wisconsin Rivers and finally to the Mississippi. The Native
Americans told them of a shorter route back to Lake Michigan, the Chicago
Portage. Traveling the Chicago Portage in 1673, Marquette, Joliet and their
party found themselves in Lyons. The party recorded Frenchmen living in the
area. Many believe these men named the area in honor of their homeland, Lyon
France. By 1682, the French and their Native American allies had complete
control of the Chicago Portage and, thus, the fur trade in the Northwest.
The Chicago Portage was often used as a route to the battlegrounds at the
Mississippi River during the American Revolution. A British military force
is known to have occupied Lyons during the revolutionary period.
Since the discovery of the Portage, Chicago has been a strategic point both
trade and military action. Realizing this, the United States government
erected the first Fort Dearborn on the Chicago River in 1804. The sole
purpose of the fort was to protect the Chicago Portage.
Due to the heavy volume of fur trade and the increasing population, traffic
over the Chicago Portage became quite heavy. On August 24, 1816, the United
States entered into a treaty, giving the United States the territory ten
miles to the north and south of the mouth of the Chicago River, with the
Native Americans. This tract of land included Lyons. On February 14, 1823
the US government granted money for the purpose of building a canal and road
to accommodate the increasing amount of traffic traveling the portage.
For nearly two hundred years, Lyons saw a succession of explorers,
missionaries and traders from Canada and elsewhere pass down the Des Plaines
River. Because of its location on the portage, Lyons is the oldest village
in the area. In 1827, brothers David and Bernardus (Lawton) Laughton owned a
trading post at "Hardscrabble" and moved to the east bank of the Des
Plaines, near the portage at Lyons.
The last century witnessed much advancement in Lyons. In 1908, George Hofmann,
Jr. constructed the concrete tower that very often identifies Lyons. Hofmann
probably had many ideas for using the tower bearing his name, but the exact
reason for its construction is no longer known. Of the many theories, the
most likely is that Hofmann intended it to house machinery he invented for
the purpose of generating electricity from the dam. Hofmann repaired the dam
at the time of the tower's construction and gained riparian rights for a
period of one hundred years.
The Works Progress Administration constructed a retaining wall on the south
bank of the Des Plaines River just above the Hofman Dam. A deep well pumping
unit was installed in 1938. On November 4, 1947, a Board of Fire and Police
Commissioners was appointed. Through the diligent efforts of many fine
Village Presidents and Trustees, there are now more than ten thousand
residents in Lyons.
In addition to numerous modern buildings, many of the old landmarks and
historic sites in Lyons remain today. Lyons has been able to preserve the
old while making room for the new.
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