Lambert: How a Respected Pol Gave Us Gas

The Inquiry

As the cold, wintry weather returns and natural gas bills increase, ever wonder when Plainfield established municipal heating gas service? 

The Facts

Pioneer homes in this region were typically heated with cast iron heating and cooking stoves. Fireplaces, which were not as efficient, were less common.

Where wood was scarce, pioneers relied on tightly wound bundles of prairie grass to fuel their heating stoves, but most settlement occurred where wood was plentiful.  

Consequently, many of the earliest pioneer settlements were identified by both the small stands of trees that dotted the Illinois prairie and the pioneers who settled there. Our region included settlements such as Holderman’s Grove, Goodings Grove and Walkers’ Grove.

In 1828, Jesse, James, and Joseph Walker claimed a significant portion of the largest grove along the banks of the DuPage River. Soon, other pioneers made large claims on the outskirts of the wooded grove that lined the river. 

As more settlers arrived, the large, wooded claims were divided into smaller “wood lots” that provided fuel for the cooking and heating needs of an increasing number of townspeople. 

In a short time, local wood lots were depleted.

Coal consumption surpasses wood

In the mid-19th century, more Americans began to rely on coal for heating purposes. 

In 1854, a local source of coal was discovered at Keeversville (between present-day Wilmington and Braidwood). But without a railroad, Plainfield residents had to haul their coal by horse-drawn wagon from Joliet or Aurora. 

At this time, coal-fired boilers were placed in the basements of many American homes, delivering hot water or steam through cast iron radiators placed in every room. Central heating distributed by natural convection through ductwork was introduced in 1885, when Americans burned more coal than wood for the first time in our history.

Around 1886, Dr. David Jump, one of Plainfield’s most notable physicians, installed a private coke gas plant behind his building along the Lockport Road. His small production facility — the first of its kind in Plainfield — provided gas needed to light and heat not only his medical office but the social hall above and two adjacent businesses as well. Several prominent residents also established private coke gas plants for their own homes.  

The Honorable Henry H. Evans

Simultaneous to these advancements, Henry H. Evans saw opportunity in Plainfield.

Born in 1836 in Canada, Evans moved to present-day Aurora in 1841, just six years after it was established. He began his career as a clerk in a store and saved enough money to open a restaurant and ice cream confectionary, which he operated until enlisting in the Civil War. 

Following his war service, Evans worked as a grocer and then became the proprietor of another restaurant. Within a short time, Evans purchased the Fitch House, naming it the Evans Hotel. In 1882, Evans was named the president of the first street railroad in Aurora. Streetcars were pulled by mules until 1890, when the line was converted to electric power. 

Evans was elected to the Aurora City Council and the Illinois Legislature in the same year, 1876. Representing Kane County, Evans was elected state senator in 1880, a position he held for nearly 30 years.

During that time, the energetic Evans turned his attention to real estate ventures, purchasing and selling property in and around Aurora, including 1,200 city lots he advertised for sale in a single year.

Evans was one of the principals behind the 1888 formation of the Excelsior Gas Co. of Aurora, which produced “water gas,” a heating fuel that was more efficient than coal gas or coke gas. Water gas, manufactured by passing steam and air over heated coke or coal, contained about 50 percent carbon monoxide, 40 percent hydrogen, and small amounts of methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

By the close of the 1880s, Evans was a very wealthy man. 

Opportunity in Plainfield

Evans’ interest in Plainfield began in 1884, when he became one of the founders of the Joliet, Aurora and Northern Railroad. The new line inaugurated steam locomotive freight and passenger service between Aurora and Joliet, with a route through Plainfield.

In 1886, all of “the tracks, appurtenances and assets of the Joliet, Aurora and Northern Railroad Company” were sold to and merged with the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad. 

That same year, Evans platted the “H.H. Evans Subdivision,” south of Main Street and east of Bartlett Avenue, adjacent to the railroad right-of-way through Plainfield.

The Excelsior Gas Co. of Aurora consolidated with three other gas companies, and the Western United Gas & Electric Co. was formed. In 1895, the Western company extended municipal gas mains between Aurora and Joliet and through Plainfield, providing the first municipally licensed distribution of heating fuel in the village. 

Water gas remained the primary source of heating fuel throughout the United States until the widespread introduction of natural gas during the 1940s and 1950s through municipally owned distribution systems. Over time, Western United Gas & Electric — along with other small gas companies — were incorporated into the Northern Illinois Gas Company (now Nicor), which was established in 1954.