USA > Illinois > DuPage County > Hinsdale > Village on the county line ; a history of Hinsdale, Illinois > Part 8
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
Train dispatching by telegraph had become standard practice back in the Fifties, but automatic block signals, electrically operated, were a long way off. The old "high ball" signal, consisting of a sphere about eighteen inches in diameter which could be raised or lowered on a high pole, had been replaced by the hand operated semaphore. With the dispatching of trains by telegraph, "train orders" became standard practice. The engineer was handed a written message, before starting on a run, instructing him concerning other trains he was to meet on the way, the stops to be made, and any other information that was pertinent to a safe and expeditious journey. These train orders were subject to cancellation and revision, in which event the engineer would be handed new orders at some station along the way, all these arrange- ments being made by telegraph. Operators of telegraph instruments were important people in those days, for the safety of trains depended upon the accuracy of their messages; and special examples of alertness
75
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
CH&O
C.B.& Q.R.R
Courtesy of the C. B. & Q. R. R. Co.
Number nine hauled trains through Hinsdale between 1865 and 1885.
on their part often were mentioned in the novels of the period, in which the dispatcher frequently was the hero of the story.
According to the company's records, two passenger cars were con- verted into sleepers in 1859. A contract for laying track in 1865 called for rail weighing "not less than 50 pounds to the yard" and for "iron chairs," these preceding the present-day tie plates. The prevailing length of rail in those days was 27 feet. Today's rail weighs well over 125 pounds per yard, and is 35 feet long.
The locomotive shown in the accompanying photograph is one that hauled trains through Hinsdale during the period 1865-85. It was an experimental engine. Note the driving rods are on the inner sides of the wheels; the rods worked on crank throws on the axles, instead of on crank pins on the outer sides, on the wheel hubs. The design was not continued. Originally a wood burner, later changed to coal, this locomotive was built in the early 1850's.
The length of the new line was 3514 miles. The maximum grades east and west were 28 feet to the mile and the highest point was 140 feet above the level at Chicago. The grades have been reduced over the years.
*
76
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
CAUSE AND EFFECT. What resulted from the building of this railroad line? The first, and one of the most portentous results was the arrival of Mr. William Robbins, a most unusual person. Originally from New York state, Mr. Robbins, who joined the Forty Niners as a young man, was a merchant on the Pacific coast for a while, but returned. He finally entered the real estate business in Illinois. Having sensed the impending development of Chicago's western suburbs, he bought eight hundred acres of land here in 1862, built a house the following year, the one (remodeled and enlarged) now occupied by Mrs. S. W. Banning at 120 E. Fifth Street. He fenced in a large part of the tract and started out as a stock farmer, while keeping an eye on further developments. His land was purchased from one Robert Jones of New York, who had obtained it from the Government, possibly from the Commissioner of the Illinois-Michigan Canal, because this area lay within the canal strip. But most of the land around here was then held by speculators who were offering it at from $7 to $25 per acre, according to Blanchard.
Mr. Robbin's acres were south of Alfred Walker's southern bound- ary and comprised, roughly, the south-east quarter of Hinsdale with Seventh Street as the south boundary, and including the west half of section 7 in Cook County. This tract was rolling, and attractive in other respects, with tiny Flagg Creek bordering it on the north. It included several ponds of various sizes and a tributary to the creek cut- ting across the farm. The terrain was high, and dry too, except for thoses undrained spots. Wild geese flocked through as the seasons changed, and deer were frequent visitors. Most of Mr. Robbin's tract was almost treeless. A dense belt of oaks across the County Line ex- tended northward along the moraine into Walker's farm, and there were many trees west of there, but this plot south of Flagg Creek was mostly bare except for patches of tall prairie grass. At about this time John Hemshell, a newly arrived resident of Brush Hill, shot a wolf near the Garfield and Third Street intersection.
Jarvis Fox was building a big house on the hill now occupied by the Memorial Building, and there were farms in every direction. Fullersburg was the nearest village. A few huts and cabins were clus- tered around the mineral springs east of the swamps. Cass, to the south- west, and Lyonsville, southeast were, like Fullersburg, well established communities on main highways. The old town of Downers Grove, an-
77
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
other center of agriculture, was to the west. A dirt road along the County Line, passing through the property on the east was little more than a wagon trail, and a similar road ran north and south on what is now Garfield Avenue, which served as a line of communication be- tween Brush Hill and the Plainfield Road. Over these paths a buggy or wagon could reach a stage road to the north or south.
Farming, however, was not Mr. Robbin's ultimate objective. He visualized the potential value of this land, and the figure was too high for the growing of crops. Instead, he foresaw here a residential com- munity, having as many desirable attributes as could be brought together, endowed by nature with the charm of a rural setting, but close enough to the metropolis, with its larger industrial interests. Improved transportation would bring them together. So Mr. Robbins set his objective, and went to work.
After completing his small temporary residence on Fifth Street, on a rise of ground which at that time overlooked a spring-fed pond at the bottom of the hill, to the northwest, he had become so convinced of a promising future for this area that he decided to build a larger house. This he erected on the north side of Sixth Street about midway between Oak and County Line, the house that was later to be occupied by the Washburns for many years, and which is now owned by Mr. W. H. Payne. This place was developed into a fine country estate, with meadows for lawns and secondary roads for its driveways, and with stock raising soon to be combined with real estate development. In the year 1866, according to Blanchard, Mr. Robbins laid out the north- west quarter of Section 12 in lots, varying in size from one acre to lots having sixty-six feet of frontage. In the same year Mr. H. W. G. Cleve- land, a noted landscape gardener, was employed to mark off the streets, some of which were to be curving, and to plant trees along their bor- ders. Today those Elms are the most venerable now growing in the vil- lage. There were graveled walks, adjoining wooden sidewalks. This area, the central part of which was at first called Robbins Park, and all of which is now known as Robbin's First, and Robbin's Park additions, extends from the railroad south to Seventh, and from Garfield to County Line.
Two or three small houses were built along these streets, for sale to those who wanted them, and the first to occupy one of these was the family of James Swartout. The Swartout family remained there for a
78
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
long time. Afterward their house was occupied by the Carl Thayers. Reverend C. M. Barnes, who later opened a large book store in Chi- cago, next bought a lot of Mr. Robbins and built a house on it. When a son, William Robbins, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, he was presented with a lot by Mr. Robbins. At about the same time Mr. Edwin Bowles arrived and built the house which stands immediately south of the First National Bank. The Bank site used to be the Bowles' side yard.
The mail came through Fullersburg during these formative years. Summit was also an active settlement then, and it is said that while the Civil War was still in progress a boy was frequently sent over there for papers and the war news.
After the railroad had been built through in '64, and a station erected, the place still had no name. Usually there is more than one version of how places acquire their names, and Hinsdale is no excep- tion. According to The Hinsdale Doings of Sept. 7, 1944, the name could have had any one of three separate origins: First, H. W. Hins- dale, a Chicago merchant told a Hinsdale writer in 1890 that the town had been named for him because he had assisted the railroad con- tractors financially.
Second, Isaac S. Bush, early Postmaster of Brush Hill and Hinsdale merchant, told a writer in 1897, that when the Burlington was laying its tracks Colonel Hammond, in charge of the project, asked Bush what they should call the new station. Bush said, "Brush Hill." Ham- mond disagreed, and asked Bush to submit other names. "Hinsdale" was then suggested by Bush, remembering his own birthplace at Hins- dale, N. Y., and he also suggested Olean, another New York town. "Soon after this," said Mr. Bush, "the name Hinsdale appeared, at- tached to a shanty at the Main Street (Garfield) Crossing." Prior to this, the name Brush Hill had appeared, and before that, the name Hazel Glen, at the same location.
Third, Mr. Robbins is said to have named the station "Hinsdale." A Hinsdale writer of 1897 feels quite certain that he was the one. This third version has been sustained by the late Mrs. Walter Field who thoroughly investigated Hinsdale's past.
A book written by Henry Gannett, entitled Place Names in the United States, published in 1905 by the United States Geological Sur- vey, gives this: "Hinsdale, village in DuPage County, Illinois, named
79
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
for H. W. Hinsdale, a prominent railroad man, and from the town of Hinsdale, New York." Possibly this book was the source of a rumored belief that Mr. Hinsdale was a director or an officer of the C. B. & Q .; the Burlington, however, has never had an official of that name.
Mr. Lester Childs, while he was a student at Ann Arbor, Michigan, met a woman who knew a Doctor Hinsdale who was practicing in Ann Arbor. She said she had heard that this Dr. Hinsdale had a brother for whom Hinsdale, Illinois was named. That was in 1898.
After reviewing the various rumors and traditions concerning the naming of the village the Friends of the Library's history committee wrote to the town clerk of Hinsdale, N. Y., asking for information about Mr. H. W. Hinsdale. The clerk replied: We have no record of an H. W. Hinsdale." So, as the saying goes, "you pay your money and take your choice."
Little or no significance is attached to the absence of a record of Mr. H. W. Hinsdale in Hinsdale, N. Y., because that town has no public library, and Mr. Hinsdale has been away from there quite a while if he moved to Chicago prior to 1864.
This suggestion is offered: It is possible for all three of the claimed origins to be correct. In fact the larger the number who favored the name Hinsdale, the more likely it was for that to have been the name selected.
With all the speculation concerning the origin of this name, which implies, of course, a sense of its importance and the pride Hinsdaleans take in it, how humiliating it is to learn what happened one day soon after the name became official. A farm woman coming through by train heard the conductor call out the name of the station. "Hen's tail," said she, "what a funny name for a town."
How did our neighboring villages along the "Q" acquire their names? The first neighbor to the west was named for Clarendon Hills, Massachusetts, a suburb south of Boston. Western Springs is the name that was given to the mineral springs found flowing there (south of the railroad on the rise of land east of the "flats") and which had at- tracted a few persons to the site before the railroad was built. La Grange was named after La Grange, Tennessee. The name Westmont is said to have originated because it is descriptive of a westerly location on high ground. Fairview Avenue replaces the old flag-stop station long
80
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
known as Greggs. Downer's Grove hails back to its early settler, Pierce Downer.
In 1866 Mr. Robbins built a stone school house at the top of the hill on Main Street (Garfield) where the large brick grade school now stands. It was thought by some that there would not be enough children to occupy the new building, with its two fair-sized rooms and a larger room above them. But the need was imminent, as disclosed by events of the months which followed.
The late Mary H. Saunders, formerly residing at the King- Bruwaert House, tells of the arrival here of her father, C. M. Saunders, in 1866. He had come to Chicago from Boston to study at the Union Park Theological Seminary, and her mother soon followed.
"Father was assigned to the village church at Lyonsville as student pastor. The railroad did not touch Lyonsville, so when father came out Saturday for the Sunday services he was met at the Hinsdale sta- tion by one of the members of the Lyonsville Church. He used to tell of his first sight of Hinsdale-'A half dozen scattered houses and trees.' Driving up the hill, they passed a pile of stone.
'What are these stones for?' he asked his companion.
'For a school house,' replied the man.
'A school house? But where are the children coming from?' asked my father.
'Oh, Mr. Robbins is going to build a town here,' said the man."
A town in the making was a new experience for the young man just from the well established towns and villages of New England.
"A few months later father was asked to commence holding re- ligious services Sunday afternoons at Hinsdale. No place for such serv- ices was available other than the Railroad Station, now used as the freight depot. The agent's family lived in the station-his wife had a piano and could play it; so with the help of the Lyonsville choir they had good music from the first. Boards laid across drygoods boxes supplemented the seating capacity of the room. Often, late comers had to stand outside by the open windows."
Others were investigating and investing in this promising new locality, and with its future so bright, it seemed quite in order to plot a village, with streets and boundaries. The building of a village on such a rapid schedule, from the ground up, probably called for solemn mo- ments of decision even for these ardent emissaries of progress, and the
81
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
exact boundaries of "the village" was one of the points to be decided. Unlike other towns, that had some particular or natural cause for starting where they did, Hinsdale's center and original boundaries were largely subject to human decision.
The railroad station had been placed on the north side of the track, about 300 yards west of the crossing of Mr. Robbins' "Main" Street. The reason for locating it beyond Main Street, where there was no other street, is not certain, but it seems a logical place to have built it, with so many rolling, beckoning hills to the west and with no good reason for clustering the town too close to the swamp adjacent to the highlands. A town must have a business section, and the stores must be near the railroad station, so the original village was laid out, in 1865, around the depot, bounded on the north by Chicago Ave., the south by Fifth Street, and between Garfield and Grant, east and west. Within this area streets were laid out, and given names: Washington, Lincoln, and Grant, for that new General who had accomplished so much in the war. Chicago Avenue was not so named then, but the numbered streets, to and including Fifth, came into being. The streets actually plowed and graded at this time were Washington, Garfield, and Sixth Street as far as the County Line. Originally, Sixth was a double-laned street with a parkway in the middle. When the street was paved it was made a single drive. A mowing machine was run over all the streets in the summer time, before they were paved. In that year, 1865, village government was a long way off, but the original boundaries, which designated the village proper, were defined. Thus the village had its start, mostly south of the railroad, but other tracts of land or "subdi- visions," north and west, were in the making.
Chronologically, Oliver J. Stough was not the next purchaser and developer of suburban lands to begin his work here, but following Robbins his operations were the most extensive, and represent the second important result of the arrival of the railroad. Starting in the year 1866 with acquisition of the Jarvis Fox farm, he gradually came into possession, piece by piece, of over 1,000 acres north and northwest of the platted village. His lands reached to the southern outskirts of Fullersburg and it was not long before Stough's first and second ad- ditions to Hinsdale were entered in the record books. Mr. Stough, like Mr. Robbins, planted many trees and made other improvements. He built his dwelling on the tract bounded by Lincoln, Vine, Maple, and
82
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
Walnut. This was a large lot, but his dwelling was a comparatively small one. He too envisioned the community's future, and did much toward its realization.
Other early purchasers of large blocks of land, some of whom were builders as well, were D. S. Estabrook, J. M. Walker, H. C. Middaugh, J. H. Hannah, J. I. Case, Marvin Hughitt, W. S. and E. Banker, A. T. Hall, David Roth, Robert Harris, Azel Dorathy, J. Blanchard, Reuben Farr, C. B. Holmes, and A. N. Towne.
During the 1860's and 70's a weekly paper, the Land Owner, de- voted to the interests of real estate development, was published in Chi- cago, and one of its issues, in the year 1869, carried a description of the development at Hinsdale, including the chart reproduced on the back end sheet. Note the extent to which the village had been mapped out by that year, "on paper" of course, but indicative of the foresight of the early settlers. Hinsdale's population was less than 500 in 1869, but in keeping with the growth that was anticipated, the boundaries, from Ayres Avenue to 10th Street and from Jackson to the County Line, were laid out to encompass an area of 11/2 square miles, within which were 175 residential blocks. At that time this was planning on a grand scale.
Note the ponds between Elm and the County Line, north and south of Third Street, the "Academy," (Mr. Robbins' stone school house) at Main and Third, the railroad station between Washington and Lin- coln, with a passing track and a freight siding. The area of Mr. Stough's estate can be seen on north Grant Street. Note the absence of trees, except along the belt of woods that cuts diagonally across the County Line, and small patches elsewhere. The trees or shrubs bordering the Robbins estate evidently were planted. Allowance must be made for errors in this map, which was drawn for the purpose of land sale pro- motion rather than historical reference. Incidentally, the Land Owner refers to it as a "cartoon," a term used generally in that day meaning a "diagram."
A written description of the village, which accompanied this chart, is quoted here in full:
"Hinsdale is situated 17 miles from Chicago, on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad. The land is elevated, and the situation is unsurpassed in the west. In the short space of four years it has risen from a single dwelling house, to a place of nearly 1000 inhabitants. The station house is about 16
83
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
miles from the Central Depot, or forty-five to sixty minute's ride from the city by any one of the eight or nine trains that stop there. The distance by driveway is about the same, and will be rendered shorter yet by a proposed connection with the Riverside boulevard."
"The scene which Hinsdale now presents has a more natural beauty than can be found at any of our nearer suburbs, as the land is 150 feet above the surface of the lake and is delving and almost hilly, there being a constant rise and decline, the picturesque effects of which can be well appreciated by all who have been accustomed to blank outlooks upon sandy deserts. The soil is of a richer clay than most prairie land, and without the sub-stratum of sand which is found nearer the lake. This renders the roads the ideal of country roads,-soft without being muddy, shedding the water by reason of their incli- nation, partly grass grown, and wending their way up and down and around their gentle slopes. On this account Hinsdale has natural advantages, the attain- ment of which by means of art would require immense expenditures of money and time.
"The richness of the soil is abundantly attested by the splendid groves at one end of the tract, covered with superb trees of oak and maple. But proofs of this, and strong ones, are found in the success of the fruits of all kinds,-pears, peaches, plums, grapes, etc. The character of the country to the south is such as to afford the finest drives. Along the Aux Plaines River the great timber gives the effect of mountainous scenery. Salt Creek, a fine stream with good fishing, runs near Hinsdale on the north, and there is abundance of water easily attainable with wells of from 20 to 25 feet depth at the highest point.
"But the value and desirability of suburban villages, for residential purposes, is not fully determined by all the above features. It is still the school house and the church that give tone and character. In this respect Hinsdale stands fore- most. The academy located there, under the superintendence of Professor Glea- son, an educator long and favorably known in Chicago, is one of the best in the country. Its advantages are second to none. Socially, Hinsdale is one of the pleasantest residence towns around Chicago. The social recherche, and a tone of refinement seems to pervade the place. There is not a grog-shop in the village, the charter especially prohibiting such unpleasant features.
"Among the residents of Hinsdale are many of our best business men, whose ample means enable them to retire in a few minutes' time from the noisy city to the quiet of their country homes. Among them are Mr. A. T. Hall, Mr. J. M. Walker, Mr. Robert Harris, Mr. Samuel Powell, and Mr. W. McCredie. Mr. O. J. Stough, who has very large interests here, and Mr. William Robbins, also one of the large landowners, have fine residences; as have also Mr. W. S. Banker, Mr. Charles B. Holmes, Mr. Jerry Nottingham, Mr. H. R. Thompson of the John Hancock Life Insurance Company, Mr. N. H Warren, Mr. J. Blanchard, Mr. J. Parker, Mr. Reuben Farr, Mr. W. Leland, Dr. F. H. Walker, Gen. Briggs, Mr. M. A. Donohue, Mr. D. S. Estabrook, the Messrs. J. P. and E. P. Hinds, and many other prominent individuals. J. I. Case, Esq. the Racine manufacturer, is making arrangements for the construction of a fine villa.
"Trains run to and from Hinsdale almost every hour of the day; and it has the special advantage of two Hinsdale accommodation trains to meet the wants of every class of business men."
84
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
The old Baptist Church stood on the southwest corner of First and Garfield.
This description requires deflation in a few particulars. The popu- lation was close to 400 in this year, instead of 1,000, there were only six daily trains to the city, and Mr. Case did not build his villa. Never- theless, it is full of the enthusiasm, hope, and promise that pervaded the local thinking and planning of the day.
Among the permanent organizations that have been formed in Hinsdale, the Congregational Church was the first. Other "firsts" of the village were: the first general store, conducted by Mr. L. E. Moreley, with William Evernden as its first clerk; the first baggage de- livery service, operated by Eben Millions who had sailed on American clipper ships before settling here; and his daughter, Fannie Millions, the first dressmaker. There was Tommy Using, whose horse and phae- ton constituted the first livery service. Over Evernden's drug store, the first instruction in dancing was given by Mr. C. P. Frey, who taught dancing and played the fiddle at the same time. The first drug store had as its proprietor Dr. J. C. Merrick, who simultaneously was the first practicing physician.
The first club for educational advancement, of which there were
85
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
many to follow, was called the Cultivators, or more exactly, the Culti- vator's Society. It engaged in Shakespearean Plays, erudite readings, and social affairs. Mrs. N. H. Warren was the leading spirit. Mrs. Belle Robbins Knight, and the Misses Ella and Alice Warren were among its members.
The first church building, that of the Baptists (Page 84) stood on the site of the present Community House, facing north. This church was also known as the "music hall" because of many concerts that took place there. After the Baptists relinquished the building, it sheltered dancing classes, and a few present-day citizens who were youngsters at that time can remember a troupe of Kickapoo Indians that came to Hinsdale once each year to sell patent medicine, through the customary medium of a vaudeville act. Their performance took place in the base- ment of this same structure. In the early 1890's it burned. A "flaming youth" of the village was suspected of having set fire to the building, but this was never verified.
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.