Lemont is like no other place in Chicagoland.

Set apart from suburban sprawl, occupying the hills, bluffs, and mile-wide valley of the Des Plaines River, surrounded in large part by forests and farms, tucked between picturesque hills and ravines, Lemont has a smalltown flavor that calms one’s soul. To live here is to step away from a hectic world, as if every day were a vacation. Yet, for all that, Lemont is convenient to all Chicagoland has to offer.

Records state that Lemont was established, or started, in 1836, making it one of the oldest towns in Northern Illinois. The Village of Lemont was incorporated on June 9, 1873.

This year Lemont celebrates its 150th Anniversary with a retelling of the history that shaped the town. Lemont’s importance depended on a quirk of geology, glacial deposits, and ancient Lake Chicago that formed the geographic features at this very spot and made Lemont remarkable, not only in its own right, but to the growth of Chicago and the opening of the American continent from sea to sea.