[citation needed] Neighboring communities are Willow Springs, Justice, Bedford Park, McCook, and Countryside.

The construction and eventual operation of the canal was responsible for the formation of many villages presently located along its banks, including Hodgkins.

The I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor is rich in historic sites, nature preserves, and wildlife, and stretches from Chicago to LaSalle-Peru.

[citation needed] The village of Hodgkins was originally known as Gary, a name locals claim was derived from "Garibaldi", in recognition of the large number of Italian laborers working in an area grain mill.

Lenzi was defeated by L. E. Thatcher in an election that contemporary newspaper accounts called "a political feud between the prohibition and liquor interests".

Village marshal Patrick Crowley, in an attempt to restore order, placed Modesto Lenzi, who was allegedly inciting the crowd, under arrest for disturbing the peace.

"[citation needed] The Fort Wayne News reported the following on June 14, 1909: The shooter, believed to be Modesto's brother, Harry, escaped and a manhunt ensued.

[citation needed] On June 22, 1909, a grand jury concluded: On December 23, 1909, it was reported by the Logansport Pharos newspaper that the charges of murder against Modesto Lenzi and John May had been dropped.

[12] The village's location relative to expressways and the availability of high, flat, and dry land made it a natural distribution and transfer point between Chicago and the rest of the nation.

Hodgkins grew substantially during these two decades; however, by the late 1970s, the motor freight industry began to decline.

As a result of these programs, commercial business began to replace motor freight as Hodgkins' mechanism of growth.

[12] Developers built a major local shopping center, The Quarry Mall, on land vacated by the declining motor freight companies in 1992.

The crown jewel[opinion] of the Enterprise Zone, however, is the United Parcel Service (UPS) package sorting facility built in 1991.

The president of the Kimball and Cobb Stone Quarry was Jefferson Hodgkins, the man for whom the village was named.

[citation needed] Hodgkins, a quarryman and crushed stone contractor, was born in Lamoine, Maine, on October 27, 1843.

In addition to other posts, Hodgkins served as aide-de-camp on Illinois Governor Joseph W. Fifer's staff, holding the rank of Colonel.

In the years before settlers began to arrive, the Potawatomi people lived in the area near the Des Plaines River.

A local merchant named John Witsan organized a Sunday school in Hodgkins about this same time.

Reverend Meyer was strongly in favor of the movement and immediately set about to conduct the first Lutheran worship services in Hodgkins, in the old Village Hall in the spring of 1911.

[citation needed] From the early days of the village, Hodgkins maintained its own firefighting capabilities, going from an organized bucket brigade that assembled at the ringing of the large bell atop the original wood-frame Village Hall during the 20th century, to a Volunteer Fire Department with two full-time firefighters augmented by other volunteers who manned three fire engines.

[citation needed] Station One, which also houses the district's headquarters, is located at 1970 Plainfield Road in La Grange Highlands.

[citation needed] The district maintains professional, full-time firefighting crews at all three stations including paramedics for its ambulances.

The Hodgkins Park District offers a large community center and schedules a myriad of activities all year long.

[citation needed] Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Hodgkins to destinations across the region.