Joliet is known as the City of Steel and Stone. Rich deposits of limestone led to a thriving quarrying industry, and in the years following the Civil War, a huge iron producing industry would, over 60 years, employ thousands at the Joliet Iron Works.
Following the dismantling of the Joliet Iron Works in the 1930s, the foundations of this once bustling factory were all but forgotten. However, in the 1990s the Forest Preserve saved this important link to Joliet's past.

Follow a one-mile walkway through the site on a self-guided tour through exhibits explaining the iron making process, and just as importantly, describing the men who worked there.

Bicycle trails extend both northeast and southwest from the Iron Works site, and I&M Canal Locks 3 and 4 are accessible by the bike trail just .3 mile north of the blast furnace trail. From downtown, follow the bicycle route signs and silhouette trail north .1 mile to the Joliet Iron Works historic site.

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