The name was chosen from a community input process. A member of the Meadow View Learning Community suggested the name Charles Reed.

The following is from the Joliet Newspaper (date unknown): "Charles Reed, founder of Joliet, was born in Virginia in 1784, and died in Stockton, Illinois in 1863. He was the first permanent settler in the original town of Joliet. He had made a claim on the southeast quarter of section 9, upon which, in 1833, he built a log house west of the river."

A direct descendent of Charles Reed writes that "The record is very clear: Charles Reed is credited as being the founder of Joliet, Illinois. He had the pioneer's eye for good ground and he was the man who selected the spot where Joliet now stands."