Editing Elwood, Illinois (section)

==History==
Elwood was founded in 1854 and incorporated as a village in 1869. The completion of the [[Joliet, Illinois|Joliet]]&ndash;[[Bloomington, Illinois|Bloomington]] [[railroad]], now part of the [[Union Pacific]] system, played a major role in the founding of Elwood. By 1900, Elwood was a small farming community with a population of about 400.

In the late 1930s, the federal government acquired nearby land for military training and weapons production, on which site the [[Joliet Arsenal]] was built and commenced operation in 1940. Arsenal construction played an important role in the development of Elwood and brought about 175 people into the area. In 1942, a massive explosion at the arsenal killed 42 workers and caused widespread damage.

In 1954, the village celebrated its centennial, and 20,000 people gathered to watch the parade. By 1970, Elwood had a population of about 750. On May 8, 1988, a tornado touched down about three miles (5&nbsp;km) north of the village, uprooting large trees and heavily damaging some homes and [[pole built|pole buildings]].

In 1990, the village began to experience more rapid growth. By 1996, Elwood's population rose to nearly 1,423, with development accelerated due to the construction of the [[CenterPoint Intermodal Center]] facility. The village's population peaked at 2,279, according to the 2010 US census, decreasing to 2,229, according to the 2020 US census. The Northern Illinois Planning Commission had projected that Elwood would have a population of nearly 20,000 by 2030, which given the 2.2. percent population contraction noted in the 2020 census, is not likely to be realized.

The [[Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie]], a [[prairie]] reserve operated by the [[United States Forest Service]] is located on the site of the former [[Joliet Army Ammunition Plant]] near Elwood, and was established by federal law in 1996. In 1999, the 982 acre (397 ha) [[Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery]] was dedicated in Elwood. When fully completed, it will provide 400,000 burial spaces.

===Fires===
Three major fires have taken place in Elwood, the first on August 26, 1995, in which the fire station was destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Full Text of HR1264 93rd General Assembly|url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=3&GA=93&DocTypeId=HR&DocNum=1264&GAID=3&LegID=14038&SpecSess=&Session=|website=Illinois General Assembly|access-date=April 5, 2017|archive-date=May 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522162145/https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=3&GA=93&DocTypeId=HR&DocNum=1264&GAID=3&LegID=14038&SpecSess=&Session=|url-status=live}}</ref> The second, which occurred on May 5, 2008, completely destroyed Bill's Inn.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Kim|title=Fire guts Elwood landmark|url=http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/932194,jo05_elfire_web.article|access-date=April 5, 2017|work=The Herald News|date=May 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513055442/http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/932194,jo05_elfire_web.article|archive-date=May 13, 2008}}</ref> A residential fire in the Wyndstone Village subdivision on April 17, 2009, caused extensive damage to two [[townhomes]].