Lemont History
From Wikipedia

The village of Lemont began during the planning and construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (I&M Canal), in the mid 1800s. The location of the town of Lemont is just west of the originally planned location of a town on the I&M Canal to be called "Athens". The town of Athens was never built, due to the proximity of the village of Lemont. The town provided support services for construction of the canal, providing housing as well as a red light district known as "Smokey Row". Many of the original buildings of this era still exist in the downtown area. The historic central business district, adjacent to the I&M Canal, contains numerous examples of architectural styles of the mid 1800's. Many of these buildings are constructed of locally quarried limestone, which at the time of mining was termed "Athens Marble". One famous historic structure which is constructed of this material is the Chicago Water Tower (the only structure to survive the Great Chicago Fire).

The I&M Canal was used until the early 1900's. It was succeeded as a major conduit for shipment of cargo by the parallel Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Sanitary and Ship Canal, which is presently in use, is the sole water connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Lemont is home to the Argonne National Laboratory, Cog Hill Golf Club (home of the PGA Tour Western Open) and the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago.

Lemont was featured in the movie Save the Last Dance starring Julia Stiles. The first five minutes of the movie take place in various areas of Lemont. Lemont High School was depicted as Johnson's white Midwestern high school. Portions of the front of the high school were shown along with the main staircase inside the school. A Lemont home and flower shop were also featured in the beginning of the film.