Plano

Planos founders, Marcus Steward and John F. Hollister, along with their families, settled in Kendall County in 1838. Hollister selected the towns name from the Latin planus, signifying flat or plane. With the invention of the first successful harvester in 1861, Plano earned the title of Birthplace of the Harvester and established the town as a leading manufacturer of farm implements. It continued to attract a variety of factories, most notably Plano Molding Company, creator of the first plastic tackle boxes. Under the leadership of Joseph Smith III, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints established its national headquarters in Plano. Its original stone church is a landmark, as is the world-famous Farnsworth House, designed by influential architect Mies Van Der Rohe.

When authors Kristy Lawrie Gravlin, Anne Sears, and Jeanne Valentine put out the call for historical photographs, area residents responded generously and enthusiastically, sharing their images from Plano's earliest days onward. Photographs from the archives of the Plano Community Library supplement these private collections.