MCG_2017

To find the heart of a community, one must
turn to its past.
For centuries, the land upon which Mokena now stands was
home to different bands of Native Americans, the Potawatomis
and their wigwams having been documented near Hickory Creek
in the early 19th century. The young family of John McGovney
were the first brave pioneers to settle the neighborhood, the
Ohioans having arrived in 1831. Their tough frontier life was soon
interrupted by the Black Hawk War, which sent them temporarily
fleeing to more densely settled parts. They returned in 1834 and
soon found new neighbors in John Atkins of Vermont and Allen
Denny of New York. With others, they broke the untamed prairie
where Mokena would later prosper.
With the construction of the Chicago, Rock
Island and Pacific Railroad in 1852, Allen Denny
subdivided several lots near Wolf Road along
today’s Front and First Streets.
To his small development he assigned the name Mokena,
marking the first recorded usage of the name. Many theories
have abounded as to what the rustic word could mean,
although modern research indicates that it signifies “turtle” in
the Algonquin tongue. Not long thereafter, John McGovney
completed an addition to Denny’s subdivision. These first steps,
along with the establishment of a post office in the winter of
1853, heralded the birth of our community. A stop along the
railroad brought commerce; early business houses were an inn,
a general store and a blacksmith shop. A schoolhouse was built in
1855. At this early time, the majority of Mokena residents were
of Germanic heritage.
The carnage of the Civil War years awakened the
young settlement’s spirituality.
The German United Evangelical St. John’s Church was founded
in 1862, followed by St. Mary’s German Catholic Church in 1864.
Shortly after the war’s end, the Methodists constructed a church
building in 1867. All three of these congregations have withstood
the test of time, remaining an integral part of Mokena to this day.
By 1878, around 600 people lived in the little burg, which was
known throughout Will County as a shipping and trading center
for grain. In June 1880 Mokena was successfully incorporated by
referendum vote. Having been elected by the town’s male voters,
the newly formed village board selected Ozias McGovney as
their first mayor. One of the board’s first acts was licensing of the
numerous saloons that abounded in the village.
Mokena enjoyed heady days until a sharp decline
struck at the end of the 19th century.
Economic hardship due to the nationwide Panic of 1893, bad
roads, and increased rail traffic to other nearby locales lead many
residents and business to relocate. During the lowest ebb, the
village counted a meager 281 inhabitants in 1900. The village
experienced a slow but gradual comeback, marked first by the
establishment of the Bowman Dairy’s milk bottling plant in 1907,
and the opening of the Mokena State Bank in 1909. Gleaming
electricity was first introduced to the town in 1913.
history and
heritage
The concreting of Wolf Road began in 1930 and
finally ended in 1936, the long gap being due to a
particularly intense property dispute.
The champion of this much-needed civic improvement was
William Semmler, a tireless Mokena booster as well as the editor
of The News-Bulletin, the community’s trustworthy newspaper.
Founded by Semmler in 1919, the publication existed until 1969.
The small town weathered the Great Depression quite well,
and overcame the desperate years of World War II through the
bravery of at least 125 local heroes, who were bolstered by the
sturdiness of Mokenians at home.
A rich agricultural tradition characterized
the life of Mokena from it’s earliest days until
relatively recently.
In the years after World War II, the village changed from a rural
farm town to a suburb of Chicago. The subdivisions of Mineral
Springs and Sunny Acres attracted newcomers in the first years
after the war, while the opening of Interstate 80 in 1968 just
north of Mokena simplified transportation to points farther
afield. At the end of the 20th century, the community experienced
a boom. In 1990, slightly more than 6,000 people lived within the
incorporated limits, and in 2000, the population had more than
doubled, counting approximately 14,000 residents. The 1990s
also registered 23 housing developments, a number previously
unseen in local history. The reputation for great living and
friendly locals is still carried on in the 21st century. Mokena is not
simply another village, but also a home.
By Matthew T. Galik | Matthew T. Galik is a Mokena resident and
author of the 2011 book Images of America – Mokena, Published by Arcadia
Publishing. Copies of this book are available for purchase at the Mokena
Chamber of Commerce Office, 19150 S. Wolf Road, Suite C, Mokena, IL
60448.
mokena.com | Mokena Chamber of Commerce 11