Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Des Plaines
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Replica of Ray Kroc's first McDonald's restaurant
Read Next
The United States Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.
14 Questions About Government in the United States Answered
Bar graph of the United States Death Toll during major events. Infogram chart.
U.S. Death Toll During Major Events
The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.
26 Decade-Defining Events in U.S. History
Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd
Causes of the Great Depression
President's bingo. Guess and select to correct president based on images.
Britannica’s U.S. Presidents Bingo
Discover
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls
Pro and Con: School Uniforms
An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.
11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)
Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)
8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army
8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
Replica of Ray Kroc's first McDonald's restaurant
Replica of Ray Kroc's first McDonald's restaurant Replica of the first McDonald's restaurant opened by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois; demolished in 2018.

Des Plaines

Illinois, United States
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/place/Des-Plaines
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: Rand
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History

Des Plaines, city, Cook county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. Lying on the Des Plaines River, it is a suburb of Chicago, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of downtown. The area was originally inhabited by Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Ojibwa peoples. Settled in 1835 by Socrates Rand of Massachusetts, for whom the community was named in 1857, it was renamed for the river (French: “Of the Plains”) in 1869. German immigrants began arriving in the 1840s and have left their imprint on the city. It was laid out in the 1850s, when the railroad connected the city with Chicago. Des Plaines annexed the village of Riverview in 1925 and Orchard Place in 1956.

The local economy was based largely on a gristmill and agriculture. The community was primarily residential until the development in the 1950s of O’Hare International Airport to its south stimulated its industrial growth. Today manufactures include fuses, plumbing fixtures, and contact lenses. The main campus of Oakton Community College was moved to the city in 1980. Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines in 1955; it has been rebuilt as a museum. There is also a local history museum. Inc. village, 1869; reinc. 1873; city, 1925. Pop. (2000) 58,720; (2010) 58,364.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.