USA > Illinois > DuPage County > Hinsdale > Village on the county line ; a history of Hinsdale, Illinois > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
A. PUGH, 516 W. Maple, was President of the Village in 1880.
M. L. RAFTREE built the large residence on the west side of Stough Street a little north of the railroad. Mr. Raftree's colorful career in the practice of law has been the source of many pleasurable anecdotes concerning his appearances before juries and public gatherings.
LAKE RANSOM, 428 S. Lincoln. Subject of "The Hinsdale Tragedy" (Page 103) .
C. E. RAYMOND was appointed food administrator during World War I, was president of Chicago's First National Bank, and a good golfer. Mrs. Raymond was a sister of Chauncey T. Lamb. Their former home is numbered 425 E. Third.
ALANSON REED built one of the first of the houses that were so often referred to by early reporters as "elegant estates." The Reed family manufactured musi- cal instruments in Chicago. The house stands north of the Highlands station, a little to the west. The house of his son, John W. Reed stood on the site of the Sanitarium, and was later owned by Judge Beckwith. Eventually it was in- corporated within the frame portion of the sanitarium building.
J. D. RICHARDSON, president of the National Biscuit Company, lived at 202 E. Fourth, and later on Woodside Drive. It is said that a member of the Richard- son family designed that familiar National Biscuit trade-mark.
BRUCE E. RICHIE, S. W. corner of Park and Third, was a well-known insurance man. Mrs. Richie is a daughter of John W. Reed. She lives at 134 E. Maple. A son, Clark B. Richie, lives in Elmhurst.
GEORGE B. ROBBINS, brother of William Robbins, built the house at the south- east corner of Washington and Third. He was president of the Armour Car Lines. Later, this was to be the temporary home of F. S. Peabody, president of the Peabody Coal Company, whose Mays Lake estate was bequeathed to the Catholic Church, and is now Saint Francis Retreat. Another prominent man, one who lived in this house some years later, was Alexander Legge, president of International Harvester Company. During most of Mr. Legge's career he lived elsewhere, but while in Hinsdale he was appointed chairman of the Federal Farm Board, and President Hoover visited him at this address on one or two occasions. The Katherine Legge Memorial on south County Line Road, established for the benefit of Harvester Company employees, and the Farm Foundation, for research in the field of agriculture, are among Mr. Legge's contributions to society.
135
THE ELEGANT ERA
WILLIAM ROBBINS, 425 E. Sixth street. See page 76, and other references to Mr. and Mrs. Robbins in Chapter VI and elsewhere.
A. R. ROBINSON, a well-remembered principal of the Hinsdale schools lived at 505 S. Garfield. His daughter, Mabel R. Gifford is a resident of King-Brwaert House. He married Jennie Pearsall.
JOHN C. Ross. The old Ross home formerly occupied the area at the southwest corner of Oak and Fourth. Years later it was moved to 836 S. County Line Rd. Mr. Ross was a member of Chicago's Board of Trade, and one of those who helped build Hinsdale. Edith, Harry, Agard, and Alice are the Ross children.
DAVID ROTH, 222 E. Chicago Ave., "a kindly neighbor." When the Roth family built this place it comprised several acres. A son Frank is still living. Mrs. Ray Noble and Syrena Roth are granddaughters.
JOHN F. RUCHTY, hotel proprietor and merchant, came to Fullersburg soon after the town had acquired that name, and built the house numbered 815 York Street. His son George E. Ruchty lives at 214 N. Washington.
LINUS C. RUTH, S. W. corner of Fourth and Washington, was Judge of the Du Page County Court, Circuit Judge, and the first village attorney. Mrs. Ruth was Librarian for a long term. Their son Chester still lives in Hinsdale. Linus, Jr., lost his life in the war of 1917-18.
JAMES S. SHANNON, 304 S. Lincoln, a builder. He erected many of the houses on Third, and on Lincoln.
ROBERT S. SLOCUM, 605 S. Garfield. His great granddaughter, Mrs. Forrest Mann, resides on Sixth street. Mr. Slocum signed the petition for village incorporation.
O. J. STOUGH's house was small but it was surrounded by an entire block of land, on which fruit trees, grape vines, and evergreens were planted. Later, D. K. Pearsons built his house on the same site, on the west side of the Grant Street hill. Mr. Stough's dwelling was moved to the northwest corner of Hickory and Grant. It has been enlarged.
JAMES F. STUART, 317 S. Park. The Stuarts were here a long time and were stead- fast members of the Episcopal Church. He was an official of one of the nation- wide express companies, before they were consolidated.
JAMES SWARTOUT, 30 E. Fifth, one of the first "settlers." This was either the second or third house to be built on the south side.
CARL THAYER lived at 30 E. Fifth, following the Swartouts. He was a member of the Board of Trade.
JOEL TIFFANY, the first village President, arrived here in 1870 from the East where he had been an active lawyer and author of several works, including Man and His Destiny, Government and Constitutional Law, and A Treatise on Trusts & Trustees. In addition he was an inventor, in the field of refrigera- tion. His residence in Hinsdale was marked by an active interest in local
Hinsdale Publie School, Eighth Grade, -
LOSING XERCISES,
Glass of '93,
JUNE 8: 1. 30 P. M.
J. N. KELLY, Sup't.
NELLIE M. BOYD, Teacher.
PROGRAMME.
"Work Wins. "
PIANO DUET,
Galop Brilllante,
Sponholtz
MISSES NELLIE CLARKE AND RUTH FAYERWRATHER.
PRAYER,
Ree. A. W. Gould
ESSAY,
GEORGE OBTRUM.
RECITATION,
The Legend of Kalooka
BESSIE HISLOP.
ESSAY,
HURE BIRD,
VIOLIN SOLO,
7th Air Varié,
C. de Beriot
ESSAY,
JOHN STREET.
RECITATION,
A Street Scene
ALBERT WOLF.
ESSAY,
Flying Machines
WILLIS LINSLEY.
PIANO SOLO,
** La Source."
Blumenthal
MABEL EDWARDS.
Civil Service
Some Famous Structures
GORDOX K. WRIGHT.
Patriotism
Program of the eighth grade graduation exercises, 1893.
137
THE ELEGANT ERA
improvement and progress. His grand-daughter, Mrs. L. M. Fee, the former Louise M. Tryon, now lives at the Godair Home. The Tiffanys built the house on the southeast corner of Washington and Walnut. It has been re- modeled over the years.
HOMER B. VANDERBLUE, 118 W. Third street. After Mr. Vanderblue left here he became dean of the Northwestern University School of Commerce.
JAMES VAN INWAGEN, a prominent Chicago business man, occupied the old Joel Tiffany house at Walnut and Washington.
DR. F. H. VAN LIEW, who lived at the southwest corner of Walnut and Washing- ton, came to Hinsdale in 1882. Dr. Van Liew was a well-versed homeopathic physician and one of the founders of the Unitarian Church. His daughters, Gertrude and Helen, reside at 240 E. Walnut.
BARTO VAN VELZER, keeper of the toll gate in early Brush Hill, lived with his family in the toll gate house, now numbered 225 E. Ogden Ave.
A. E. WALKER, 639 S. Garfield. An active, energetic family. The children are Ned, Lulu Belle, Aldis, Julia, Robert and Walter.
ALFRED L. WALKER. See page 56.
H. K. WALKER, came to Hinsdale in the 80's and lived at 425 S. Garfield.
C. C. WARREN, 115 E. Maple, was village president in 1881. He and C. T. Warren were among the founders of the Unitarian Church.
C. T. WARREN, father of Mrs. Chauncey T. Lamb, owned the house that was later to be torn down to make way for the Memorial Building.
N. H. WARREN, 125 E. Maple was the father of Ella and Alice.
The three Warrens were brothers, and partners in the grain brokerage firm of N. H. Warren & Co., Chicago. They moved to Hinsdale in the 1870's and had a prominent part in the shaping of the village during its formative years.
The homes of C. C. Warren and N. H. Warren on Maple Street were next door to each other. On more than one occasion in the summer time the brothers installed a large wooden platform, sheltered by a huge canopy, between the two houses and invited their neighbors to dance. The guests could pass from one house, across the dance floor, to the other.
Ella Warren taught dancing in the old Baptist Church. Miss Alice Warren now lives at 115 N. Park Ave .; Mrs. C. T. Lamb at 504 S. Garfield.
C. L. WASHBURN, of the firm of Bassett & Washburn, occupied the stone house at 425 E. Sixth street, the one built by William Robbins in the 60's. The Bassett & Washburn greenhouse, or one of them, was on the west side of County Line Road, between Sixth and Seventh.
JOHN WEBSTER, S. E. corner of Lincoln and Second. This family arrived shortly after William Robbins and the Swartouts. They operated an express and delivery business in the early days. Roy and Nelson were Mr. Webster's sons. Nelson served as Wm. Evernden's chief clerk for a long time.
138
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
The Grant Street hill.
ADOLPH WEIDIG was Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Symphony orchestra under Theodore Thomas. The Veidigs occupied the house on the northwest corner of Elm and Walnut, the one that faces southeast.
GEORGE WILSON, 130 E. First street. Mr. Wilson was a surveyor. His daughters were Adelaide and Mary. Adelaide Wilson Slade is the mother of Mrs. Norman B. Freer.
REVEREND GEORGE WILSON became minister of the Congregational Church dur- ing the early 90's, and lived at 644 S. Garfield. Present relatives are George W., a grandson, and Mrs. Clifford Pratt.
T. J. WOODCOCK, N. W. corner Fourth and Washington, was here in the 80's. Sadie Woodcock, a daughter, married George Barker.
There are other early houses that have not burned or been dis- mantled, but most of those listed are representative of the period before 1895. Many of them have been remodeled; some to such an extent that they no longer look old.
There have been various blacksmith shops, in the village; those of Lewis, French, Schreiber, and others. The one remaining, operated by
139
THE ELEGANT ERA
PARKHOTEL
The Park Hotel.
Frank Hauser on Village Place, occupies a remnant of the old Roth building which probably was the first commercial building in Hins- dale. It stood on the southeast corner of Washington and Hinsdale Ave. The Park Hotel was north of the old station, and the village pump was about in the middle of Washington street, in front of the hotel. At the curb was a watering trough for horses. The trough is still there.
In 1898 the Burlington decided to build a new Hinsdale station, and a drawing of the proposed building was published in The Doings. A year later this building was completed, whereupon the old depot, which had served as the town's early meeting hall, began its long term of service as the freight house.
As THE century drew to a close, marking the thirty-fifth year since the railroad gave impetus to the building of a village on these rolling acres, new fine homes were still being added, such as Mr. Bassett's and Mr. Coffeen's. The population had reached 2,500; fires, and burglaries in the village were frequent; skating and fishing on Salt Creek were in
140
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
their hey-day; a hundred telephones had been attached to hall and living room walls; "talking machines" and cameras had arrived, and there was a good deal of discussion concerning the capabilities of automobiles, and of Teddy Roosevelt.
Aside from social affairs, the first thirty-five years, and especially the decade of the nineties, were marked chiefly by the rapidity of village growth, and of municipal improvements. Subdivisions of land were frequent, and toward the end of the century, contracts often were let for the building of dozens of homes at a time. This construction work had to be accompanied by the installation of new paving and other facilities, so the Village Board was kept as busy as the contractors, and at times, was hard pressed to keep up with the requirements of such rapid expansion. In population growth, the infant Hinsdale had far exceeded its older neighbors, Fullersburg, Lyonsville, and Cass.
CHAPTER VIII From 1900 Onward
A S A new century opened, amid a blast of whistles that were louder and longer than those of the ordinary new year observance, Hinsdale shook off the few remaining aspects of a country town, and became a suburb of a large city. Farmers still came to the village for supplies on Saturdays, and many of the roads leading to town were still of the dirt variety. But the "general" stores were disappearing, the hotel had gone, and the village no longer was a shipping point for hay and cattle. Rural delivery of mail had been inaugurated, and more Chicago business men were moving this way.
One of these, a man of wide reputation, was Daniel K. Pearsons. His career is interesting to Hinsdaleans, for although he lived here only for a part of his long and useful life, his numerous philanthropies brought him into national prominence, and his former residence at 122 North Grant Street is one of our best known landmarks.
After studying medicine at Woodstock, Vermont, the State of his birth, he practiced medicine in New York state until a desire to travel led him to sell his practice, and to go to Europe. Upon returning, he located in Tennessee and lectured at various southern schools and colleges. Later, Dr. and Mrs. Pearsons moved to Ogle County, Illinois, where the doctor became a farmer. But his interest in farming gave way to a greater fascination that he found in the buying and selling of real estate; so in 1860 he left the farm and moved to Chicago.
Here, during that era of westward expansion, he became a success- ful land broker, acquiring a fortune during the following decade, which enabled him to launch into various enterprises that brought him immense wealth. During the 1880's, Dr. and Mrs. Pearsons moved to Hinsdale, and it was while residing here that he disposed of the greater part of his huge fortune, for the benefit of various institutions; artistic, religious, and educational.
In 1905 a reporter for the Chicago Tribune asked Dr. Pearsons to comment on the subject of tainted money. "Tainted money?" said the old gentleman, "to the popular mind, excited just now by socialistic out-cries, there is no wealth that is untainted."
141
142
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
Continues the report: "The philanthropist and 'patron saint of small colleges' chuckled as he gazed at a newspaper clipping telling of his timorous offering of $50,000 to the board of missions of the Congre- gational Church in which he cautiously requested an opinion as to the possibility of 'taint' in the donation."
Dr. Pearsons gave only to worthy causes and his benefactions were numerous. He bequeathed his home and grounds to the Public Li- brary. As its present quarters become crowded, the Library Board looks forward to the day when it can make some use of this bequest.
All those who bought property here could not pay for it in one lump sum, and it was not always convenient to do the financing through Chicago mortgage houses, so a group of men in town, which included the names of Bohlander, Duncan and Frosher, loaned money to help the new-comers buy lots. It was natural for this activity to develop into the Hinsdale Building & Loan Association, which flour- ished until 1902 when the Association was voluntarily liquidated in favor of a bank, which would carry on the real estate loan business and offer general banking facilities as well. After consideration and rejec- tion of a proposal to estabish a branch of the Downers Grove bank here, the Hinsdale State Bank came into being, in May, 1902, with Thomas P. Phillips as its first president.
Of the period now being reviewed Otis R. Cushing has furnished many absorbing anecdotes, and these are doubly interesting because they relate to events in some of which he was one of the participants:
"Many a youngster wonders what we did for amusement at the turn of the century. There were no movies and few automobiles, but we generally managed to keep rather busy and had a good time doing it as well.
"When near summer weather arrived, we longed for that 3:30 dismissal bell, and often, as soon as school was out, we started in the direction of Salt Creek, over the hill on North Washington, after crossing Ogden, and to what is now the entrance to the Forest Preserve, where we followed the cow path through the woods past the Coffin cabin to the old Mud Hole where most of Hinsdale's oldsters learned the art of swimming.
"In those days the boats were rented from Mr. Graue just above the dam and when a boat rounded the bend it was up to us to be ready to duck, as we knew not bathing suits.
"Sometimes we would stop at the Ruchty Bros. ice house which stood at the north end of Washington Street, and play around in the sawdust that kept the ice from melting. Hinsdale and other towns relied on the Ruchtys for their ice, delivered in large horse-drawn wagons with a rear step that made it easy to hop on and grab a small piece to refresh one's self on a hot day. There was a
143
FROM 1900 ONWARD
mysterious atmosphere there too, for Louie lived in a dugout in the woods across the road from the ice house. (Louie was an unfortunate fellow who aroused awe and speculation among the youngsters of the neighborhood. Many are the legends concerning this individual, who is said to have been related to German Royalty. Those who knew him when he lived in the cave near the creek recall his ability to speak several languages, and his working at odd jobs in the vicinity. Remembered also is the New Testament he carried in one hip pocket, often accompanied by a half-pint of whiskey in the other.) It was fun watching them cut the ice in the winter. It was done with a long hand saw. First they would saw a channel for maybe half a mile up stream, and then start cutting the cakes, floating them down this channel which ended at the slide that led to the ice house door. Many of the boys on skates were pleased to be allowed to take a pike pole to help hurry the ice down the channel toward its destination. They did it for the fun of it; which was probably one of the reasons Ruchty's ice was reasonable in price."
When John Schmidt of Fullersburg was nine, back in the 1870's, a fish ran away with his line and pole. He finally caught up with it, hauled it out, and it was found to weigh over eleven pounds. Years later, George Coffin caught one that tipped the scales at thirteen pounds. This probably is the largest known catch from Salt Creek. Both fish are said to have been pickerel.
One-ring circuses and gypsy caravans are other things that amused the youngsters of yesteryear. When a circus was coming, the news got around. No cajolery was needed to get certain lads up before the sun, to help raise the tent, water the elephants, and get a free ticket. Small circuses have performed in Hinsdale on the northeast corner of First and Garfield, on the area that is now Burns Field, and on the northwest corner of Chicago Ave. and Grant Street. The last circus to appear in Hinsdale was on the Grant St. lot, about 1910.
The long rumored electric railroad that might have come through here, finally revealed itself as the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin, which ultimately built through Elmhurst and Glen Ellyn instead. But later on, there was another rumor of a coming electric line to be extended westward from La Grange. It, too, came to naught.
Since the 1880's Hinsdale has had a Board of Local Improvements that makes recommendations to the Village Board concerning the betterment of municipal facilities. In 1904 it recommended the instal- lation of 20 miles of new sidewalks, to replace old board walks, one of the most comprehensive pieces of new paving undertaken up to that time. The suggestion was approved by the Trustees, in the amount of $70,000 for the new walks.
144
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
Most Hinsdaleans have looked upon the squirrels in the village as being the natural descendants of those that scampered among the trees before the village was here. That is a nice thought, and it comes as a surprise to learn that some of them at least were "planted." In a 1904 issue of The Doings we learn that a nature-loving citizen, through public subscription, brought 60 pairs of squirrels here and let them loose.
Years before this time, the machine age had invaded America's factories and transportation facilities, and now its effects were becom- ing increasingly apparent in the home with steam, electricity, the internal combustion engine, and gas. These four sources of power, heat, light, and other conveniences were making themselves felt in all Hinsdale homes.
First, there was a water-pumping station, with the tall cylindrical tower atop the Garfield hill, from which water was distributed throughout the town at sufficient pressure. It was "hard" water for the first forty years, until the softening plant was installed, but the village water could be supplemented by that from the cisterns. Next, came the electric light, and shortly there-after, a gas main was laid from Aurora to most of the western suburbs. Kitchen stoves no longer needed to rely on wood or coal, and hot water was easier to prepare. The electric current has had so many applications, and the end is not in sight. Tele- phones were next, to be followed by the automobile.
Early owners of automobiles in Hinsdale were the Melchers who drove a Franklin car having a four-cylinder engine mounted trans- versely, with a long chain to the rear axle, and a tonneau that opened at the back, with a small step below the door. At about the same time, Lafayette Briggs had a White Steamer, which burned in 1905. Heman Fox drove a one-cylinder Cadillac. A few years later A. E. Keith bought a large green 6-cylinder Stevens Duryea. Paul Butler's first car was an Orient Buckboard, to be followed by a two cylinder Buick. Charles A. Brown glided past in his gently puffing Stanley Steamer, or in his experimental Owen Magnetic. There were a few other cars in those days, among them a two-cylinder Maxwell, a Chalmers, another Frank- lin, one or two electrics, and the under-slung American roadster owned by the McCurdy girls.
Most of these were open cars, with two-man tops. To close them against the rain, out came the side curtains, to be tediously fastened,
145
FROM 1900 ONWARD
button by button. The gasoline tank was filled by first removing the front seat cushion, and then placing a funnel in the tank opening. A chamois skin covered the funnel to filter the water out of the gasoline. These cars had large sheet metal "dustpans" under them, but the pans failed to keep out the dust. Tires were guaranteed for 3,000 miles, but this was later increased to 5,000.
The Doings had this to say in 1906 about a "reliability run" spon- sored by the Chicago Automobile Club, and which passed through here: "Many Hinsdaleans watched the horseless caravan, and few in- deed envied the travel-stained, dustcovered, mud-bespattered occu- pants of the cars." The course was from Chicago to Elgin, to Aurora and return, the same "Century" tour that the bicyclists used to make.
Bill Evernden and his drug store recall nostalgic memories to many a Hinsdalean who was in his teens early in the century. Here, let Otis Cushing tell of that well-remembered individual:
"William Evernden, who must have come here in the 70's, and who was known as 'Bill' to the young and old alike, was an early Hinsdale druggist, and was particularly a friend of the boys. Many a time he gave fatherly advice to the high school lad, pointing out the right direction if necessary, and he always treated their confidences as only Bill could and would. Any of the boys knew where they could unburden their souls. Some of the people spoke of the store as Bill's church.
"Once he decided that there were too many boys hanging around the store and that they would have to go, as someone had carefully informed him that it was hurting his business. It was not until the next day that he decided that the boys meant more to him than the extra bit of trade-and-he never parted with them again."
A noteworthy sequel to that phase of Bill Evernden's career in Hinsdale is the present-day concession on the part of several of his former confiders, men now of middle age and beyond, that Bill's advice was sound, and that it helped them to clear some of life's rough spots; then, and later.
The manufacturing industry has never obtained a sure footing in or near this mecca of homes and gardens. The Elgin National Watch Company surveyed a site near Hinsdale, but eventually decided on Elgin. Over the years, a few small manufactories have attempted to establish themselves in the village. In the nineties there was a manu- facturer of textile belts for industrial pulleys. There was the Hinsdale Bottling Works, that distilled and distributed water, and one or two other small enterprises, but none of them lasted. The only activity
146
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
approaching the description of a process industry that has flourished in Hinsdale is the laundry. It goes on and on.
The flower-growing industry has prospered, and Mr. Cushing tells of this historic example, an industry which began as a hobby:
"In 1887, when the O. P. Bassett and C. L. Washburn families moved to Hins- dale, they decided to build a dome-shaped greenhouse with a fish pond in the center, on the south side of Sixth street across from the Washburn home. At this time Mr. Washburn conducted a lumber business in Chicago, and Mr. Bassett owned the Pictorial Printing Company in Aurora.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.