USA > Illinois > DuPage County > Hinsdale > Village on the county line ; a history of Hinsdale, Illinois > Part 9
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
News from the county came mostly by way of Chicago. On the morning of June 6, 1867, The Chicago Tribune, which was reaching the village a few hours after coming off the press, carried a long news item entitled "Excitement in Du Page County," concerning removal of the county seat from Naperville to Wheaton.
The latter town had claimed the right to serve as the seat of justice owing to its central position in the county, but this claim was ener- getically refuted by Naperville, whose stand was augmented by her age, numbers, and wealth. The State Legislature authorized an election in the county to settle the dispute, which was won by Wheaton, by a small margin. The removal was accompanied by violence of a minor sort, expressive of interest in the seat of government rather than an- tagonism.
MUD, dark brown mud, is mentioned frequently in all of the accounts and stories of this part of the country during the pre-Cleveland era. For the first ten or fifteen years Hinsdale's streets were just as nature made them, and the sidewalks too, except for those stretches that some public-spirited person had covered with boards or cinders. But most of the sidewalks were merely footpaths paralleling the carriage and wagon tracks. During wet spells, vehicles often sank nearly to their
86
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
hubs. Pedestrian's rubbers would stick and come off. Dogs tracked the stuff into homes and stores.
The streets must have been subject to this muddy condition for a long time, because Otis R. Cushing, well known citizen and business man says, "I recall that in the late 'go's Fifth Street was not paved and there was a mud hole in front of our property. Dad used to be out with a two-by-four helping pry the carriages out of the mud on Sunday afternoons during the wet seasons."
The early houses were mostly far apart and well scattered over the entire area. Then, as now, the houses were built of frame, usually with clapboard siding, or of stone or brick. But frame houses predomi- nated, with inside chimneys, cedar shingles, and "caps" over the win- dow frames, the upper part of the frame being slightly arched, in a plain or fancy design. Many of the early homes were designed without benefit of architect. Nevertheless, examination of the houses built during the '60's and '70's reveals more pleasing designs than some of those which went up in the '80's and 'go's. "Gingerbread" and gewgaws were con- sidered attractive after 1875, but apparently not before.
Water came from wells and from cisterns that were supplied with rain water from the roof. Many, if not all, of the older places still have these cisterns in the back or side yards, though they have long been out of use. They were used, however, up until about 1915, when the water softening plant was installed in the village. Pumps forced the water from the cistern to a tank in the attic, from which the various out- lets in the house were supplied. Buckets at each home served as fire protection. Coal oil lamps furnished the light. "Coal oil" was a yellow- ish petroleum product that became known as "kerosene" in later years, when refining processes were improved. Candles also were used, until gas arrived. This modern improvement, however, did not wait for gas mains and pipes from the outside. Some of Hinsdale's residents in- stalled machines that manufactured gas in their basements, and rem- nants of those devices still can be seen in the basements of some of the older dwellings. Whatever the kind of lighting, each house was equipped with hand kerosene lanterns, to be carried by those who went out at night. Some of the early homes had furnaces of a sort, but the majority relied on those barrel-shaped cast iron stoves, that now are confined to lumber camps and remote country stores. Some of these stoves had bright nickel trim.
87
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
FRO
M CHICAGO
Stations
Freight, No. 13. B
Freight, No. 11. B
Night Express. No. 9. C
Aurora Passenger, No. 7. B
Mendota Passenger B
Quincy Passenger, No. 3. B
DIST. FROM
CHICAGO
... Central Depot.
9.45A.M.Lv.
11.30P.M. Lv.
5.45P.M. Lv.
4.30P.M. Lv.
3.00P.M. Lv.
7.30A.M.Lv.
. Chicago Station
10.10
8.15A.M.Lv.
11.50
6.00
4.45
3.15
7.45
21/2
. Cicero
10.25
8.45
*12.07
6.16
*4.58
±3.33
*8.00
71/2
Riverside
10.48
9.25
Lv.S
12.22
6.30
5.10
3.49
8.15
121/2
West Lyons.
11.05
9.42
*12.33
6.40
5.17
3.58
8.24
1534
Hinsdale.
11.15
9.53
12.40
6.46
5.28
4.04
8.30
181/4
. Downer's Grove ..
11.37
10.13
12.55
7.00
5.35
4.14
8.42
221/2
Lisle
11.53
10.30
$1.06
7.10
5.43
4.22
8.52
251/2
Naperville
12.10
10.48
1.18
7.20
5.53
4.32
9.02
291/2
Aurora.
12.56
11.45
Lv. S
B.
6.15
4.55
9.27
381/4
1868 suburban timetable, west bound.
From the beginning, up until 1910, chickens were raised, and cows were kept in back yards and sheds within the village limits. Horses were stabled in the village until a later date.
Since its first settlement, there has been a spirit of helpfulness and cooperation toward filling public needs in the village, and one of its first manifestations took the form of sidewalks. After the original town boundaries were set, and twenty or thirty families had built homes, the need of sidewalks, especially in wet weather, became urgent. So one day Mr. N. H. Warren had several loads of lumber shipped to Hins- dale, and many citizens pitched in to help build plank walks. They were put down, of course, along those streets where they were par- ticularly needed, so mostly these boards were laid over the approaches to the business district. The first board walks installed by the village, after incorporation, ran from the station to north Washington Street.
When the Hinsdalean of the '60's and '70's went to Chicago, the city terminal was Central Station, at the foot of Randolph Street. For the westward journey the train went south from Central Station to 16th Street, where it turned west and made a stop a little to the east of State Street. From there on west, stops were made at the following named stations: Cicero, Riverside, West Lyons, (now La Grange) and Hins- dale. That was all. There were no Western Avenue, Berwyn, Brook- field, or other stops with which we are familiar. West of Hinsdale, the stations were Downers Grove, Lisle, Naperville, and Aurora. Schedules
2
11.30
Ar. )
1.45
7.45P.M. Ar.
Mail, No. 1. B
9.08
Ar. )
88
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
and stops were more informal then, when traffic was lighter. On page 87 there is a reproduction of the westbound portion of an 1868 time table. It will be seen that in that year Hinsdale was served by through trains, the specialized suburban service not yet having been demanded by population growth, and that freight and live stock trains, as well as passenger trains, were scheduled. An average passenger train made the trip in 65 minutes; a fast mail in one hour flat. The timetable for the following year, 1869, however, scheduled two trains which went no farther west than Hinsdale and Aurora, respectively. The first was called the "Hinsdale accommodation train," and those two trains sig- nify the beginning of the regular suburban service. From then on, trains of the suburban category were added as required.
The broad prairie between Chicago and the Desplaines River still was poorly drained, so that water often came up to the tracks after heavy spring rains. But in summer, the Indian paint brush and other wild flowers blossomed on the prairie in great profusion. After leaving Berwyn, the train was out in the country, in more sparsely settled coun- try than that west of Hinsdale today. At present-day La Grange, there was at first only a platform for taking on milk and other farm produce.
Billy Cummins is remembered as "a most popular conductor" who furnished much merriment for the commuters. He had a penchant for adding large words to his vocabulary, and would glow like a clear morning whenever he acquired a new one.
At this time commutation tickets were sold in the form of books of coupons, one coupon being removed by the conductor for each trip. The book was good for one, two, or six months, or a year.
A rapidly growing town needed roads leading to and from it. The making of a road followed this procedure: first, those who wanted it would petition the county for a survey, and the Commissioner of roads would then call a meeting of those persons and the owners of land through whose property the proposed road would pass. If found agree- able, the road was surveyed. Then, in the absence of further obstacles, but in the presence of sufficient money in the County Treasury to com- pensate the land owners and road laborers, the work proceeded.
Actual construction, following the survey, consisted of plowing, scraping, and rolling the surface, and of filling in here and there with gravel, if that material were available. The work was crude, at best, and did not approach our present standards of road building until the
89
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
macadam type of construction came into use. Here in the west, that was not until the latter part of the nineteenth century when state aid in the building of roads began. Oddly enough, the bicycle gave impetus to the state-aid movement. Bicycle clubs and "wheel societies" de- manded better roads for their long cycling tours. Federal aid came later, with the automobile.
In the chapter on Brush Hill, mention was made of a proposed road that would have cut diagonally across country between there and Cass, a road that was surveyed, but never constructed. Our present highway No. 83, however, was surveyed in 1862, principally as a link connect- ing those two places, and in due course, it became a road.
Spring Road, extending from Fullersburg to Roosevelt Road, south and west of Salt Creek, had been surveyed and laid out in 1840- 42. Garfield Avenue, then called Main Street, was surveyed south to Plainfield Road in 1864. It was then called the William Glidden Road because it cut through the property of a farmer of that name. There are other instances of new roads having been named for persons through whose property they were extended. Northward, as a wagon trail this street (Wm Glidden Road) skirted the Walker farm, then on down the hill to Fullersburg, where it was known as Cass Street. Now it is York Road, from The Lane to Ogden, and beyond.
Chicago Avenue, connecting Hinsdale with Downers Grove was surveyed in 1865-6, and County Line was made into a road during the 1860's. The extension of North Washington Street to Salt Creek was surveyed in 1876, according to the Surveyor's book, but T. E. Clark, old resident of Fullersburg, says this was "only a path" as late as 1890. Several roads were surveyed, but not immediately constructed.
Some of the notes found in the road surveyor's book are of interest, such as these:
"Met on the 29th day of October 1864 in the depot at Brush Hill to hear proofs and allegations of the parties."
Several of these meetings are reported to have taken place "in the depot at Brush Hill," as late as 1867, which would indicate that the name "Hinsdale" was slow in taking hold throughout the County. In 1868 a meeting was held at "Hinsdale."
"Served notice on J. E. Oldfield and Willie Walton to move their fences out of the road adjoining their respective places."
90
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
Bases of measurement used by the early surveyors often were in- formal and indefinite, according to present-day standards. These are examples:
"Starting at the corner of Mr. Jones' barn the line runs to . ..
"In line with a red oak tree 18" in diameter."
"Established the center of the road by digging a hole and putting several small stones into it, with a red stone on top."
But such methods of describing boundaries were not confined to the road surveyor's office. The legal description of a piece of property at Second and Washington in Hinsdale was found to read in part "- and thence to the Arbor Vitae hedge."
It would be of interest to know who the farmers were on the land immediately adjacent to Hinsdale in the early 1870's, but there is rea- son to believe that tillers of the soil close to our borders were few. There were land owners, but not many land owning farmers just out- side the village boundaries, for much of this territory was being held by investors, in anticipation of the inevitable expansion of the village and a consequent rise in values. Some lived on their tracts, as did Michael Sucher and H. Faul, to the northwest and William Bilby, J. D. Crocker, and W. Leland on the south, but even these places were either in the nature of country estates, or the lands were tilled by tenant farmers. Other nearby acres were just being held for a rise in the market.
ACCORDING TO Mr. Paul Richert, most of the land on which Clarendon Hills is located, was purchased from the Government by John J. Monell, during the early 1830's. In all, he acquired 960 acres. In 1836 Monell sold one-third of his holdings to Alfred A. Belknap. Title to Belknap's land then passed to Abraham M. Smith, and finally back to Monell, who then sold to M. P. Bush, George Howard, and others. In 1867 Bush and Howard transferred a large tract south of the railroad to James M. Walker. Then came Henry P. Churchill, Charles B. Holmes, O. J. Stough, Amos T. Hall, S. B. Sherer, Robert Harris, Dirkus Snitjer, and Henry C. Middaugh, all of whom bought large tracts in the area.
91
COMING OF THE RAILROAD
Clarendon Hills was officially recorded as a town in November, 1873. Before that, it was known as a part of West Hinsdale.
Present-day Hinsdaleans remember H. C. Middaugh as the prin- cipal owner of Clarendon Hills property north of the railroad. Mr. Middaugh moved here from Cook County, became DuPage's School Director and a member of the Board of Supervisors. His Clarendon property was used entirely as a farm until 1891, when he vacated that area between the railroad and Chicago Avenue, which has become the north side of the village, with many streets and homes. But, for a while thereafter, he continued to farm eighty acres of land north of Chicago Avenue, while residing in his large brick dwelling that still stands a few hundred yards west of Highway 83, a little south of Chicago Avenue. But the 80 acre remnant of the Middaugh farm soon became a part of the course of the first Hinsdale Golf Club.
The organizers of that club rented land for the course from Mr. Middaugh for a stipulated period, during which time the property, under the club's supervision, was considerably improved. When time came for renewal of the lease or purchase of the land by the club, the price asked was considered too high, so the club decided to move farther west. The course now is located on land owned by the F. O. Butler estate.
A news despatch of 1874 tells of a widely attended wedding at the home of Mr. W. W. Welch in that year. Among other early residents was Albert G. Hines who arrived from Philadelphia in 1880. His dwelling, just south of the present business district is a familiar land mark. Mr. T. A. Lemmon came from Chicago in 1882, and built a house. Later, the Michael Straus family, well known to many Hins- daleans, lived in the large frame semi-farm house on the high ground just east of Clarendon Hill's south side. It burned in 1924.
The first railroad station was erected in 1865, on the north side of the tracks, at about the point where Prospect Avenue now crosses. Following its destruction by fire, a second depot was built south of the rails and a little west of the first location. After this second build- ing burned, the present station was constructed. As in Hinsdale, the early stations served various civic purposes as well as housing the patrons and local business activities of the railroad. From 1877 to 1886 Mrs. John Butler was station agent and postmistress at Clarendon Hills.
92
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
The first store, a brick building, was located on the east side of Prospect Avenue, south of the present station. This was an old-time general store. It burned in 1892. The oldest business building at pres- ent is the store that was erected by Edward Mochel in 1911. The Post- office was then moved to the Mochel building. The village pump, which served faithfully up until 1928, was likewise on Prospect Avenue, on the east side, a few yards south of the tracks.
Clarendon Hills developed slowly during its first fifty years. As late as 1922 there were only thirty-five dwellings on the south side, and a smaller number to the north. In sharp contrast to that condition of affairs, new homes are now being built on a large scale; in fact real estate activity has been noticeable since the mid 1930's.
*
FROM THE START, no period of languor was experienced in Hinsdale except for the area west of Vine Street. West Hinsdale, the same as Clarendon Hills, was slow to develop. But with roads being added, often two at a time; with the population approaching a thousand; with the sound of carpenter's saw and hammer being heard in every quarter, new faces appearing daily on the streets, new religious and other groups being organized, and a business section taking form, Hinsdale passed from its infant stage. The effects of the railroad had been far-reaching, and this was only the beginning.
CHAPTER VII The Elegant Era
A SECOND TRACK was added to the railroad in 1872, and this was a sign of the times. Despite an impending National business depression, new people continued to arrive, and in the following year the Village of Hinsdale was incorporated.
The petition to incorporate, couched in the dry legal verbiage and quaint expressions of that era, but revered in local sentiment, was placed before the court at Wheaton in the month of March 1873. A transcript of portions of that document as it was presented before M. C. Dudley, County Judge, follows:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
State of Illinois Du Page County, s s In County Court, In Probate March Term, A.D. 1873
To His Honor the County Judge of Du Page County:
Your petitioners humbly praying represent unto your honor that they are legal voters and resident within the following prescribed limits. . . That there are within said prescribed limits Five Hundred in- habitants . . . That your petitioners desire the inhabitants of said territory incorporated under the General Laws of this State into a Village corporation under the name and style of Hinsdale.
Therefore your petitioners humbly pray that you will cause the question to be submitted to the legal voters of said territory, whether they will be incorporated into a Village corporation , or not.
The petition was dated August 1, 1872 and it was signed by 37 citizens of the Village. See Page 189 for this list.
An election to vote on the question of incorporation was held in the railroad station in Hinsdale on March 29, 1873. Sixty-two votes were cast, 60 for incorporation, 2 against.
Organization of the village government was soon to follow, so vil- lage officials were elected: President, Joel Tiffany; Clerk, N. H. War- ren; Trustees, E. P. Hinds, Winsor Leland, William Robbins, George Wells and W. W. Wood. Police Magistrate, Isaac Q. Hinds. No other
93
94
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
+
---
PV vậy
Joel Tiffany, first president of the village, built this house in the 1860's on the southeast corner of Washington and Walnut.
Front hallway of the Joel Tiffany home.
95
THE ELEGANT ERA
offices existed in the beginning, but a "Chief of Police" soon was to be employed.
The village had passed from the prospecting, surveying, and platt- ing stage. As an organized, growing community it was crossing the threshold of a new period in American history, a period of crinoline and lace. Here, that era was exemplified in the suburban estate, with its broad acres and verandas; its cupola, spacious barn, sleighs, surreys, and side-saddles; a period of finery, furbelows and social niceties; of piano recitals, archery, and readings; of costume balls, calling cards, and gas-light. There were few main events or turning points in the town's progress during the twenty-five years following incorporation, but may fine homes were built, municipal improvements got under way, and Hinsdale began to take its rightful place in Chicago's front yard.
Living old-timers are not old enough for their memories to encom- pass much of that era, but the Library, and a few residents, possess notes and memoranda of those who have passed on. Also, the Chicago newspapers of that period printed news of the suburbs that was sub- mitted by reporters, some of whom lived in the various suburban com- munities. The identities of the reporters for Hinsdale have not been established, but their dispatches, exactly as they wrote them, are avail- able.
As quotations are used they will not be encumbered by reference in each instance to the source of the information, but it is considered advisable to indicate the years to which the items refer, so they can be followed in chronological order.
1873 to 1875
THE railroad station could not be used indefinitely as a town meeting place, so in 1872 Mr. Stough built a hall. For more than two decades Stough's hall was to serve as the place for social functions and civic assembly. It also was used as a private school by Mr. Gleason. Follow- ing its purchase by Mr. Henry A. Gardner it became known as Gard- ner's Hall. The building is still standing and is now the Baptist Church, at Eleven North Lincoln Street.
It was in this building that the annual masquerade ball was inau-
96
VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
gurated, this being the principal social event of early Hinsdale. The following item concerning the ball appears in a newspaper dated February 3, 1873:
"A masquerade ball is to be given at Hinsdale by Mr. and Mrs. O. J. Stough next Wednesday evening. A train will leave at Central Depot at 7 o'clock in the evening, stopping at State and Canal Streets, and returning, leave Hinsdale at 2 o'clock in the morning. The cards of invitation will pass gentlemen and ladies upon the train both ways."
Special trains from the city for local social events were customary until about 1890. Can we not picture the train, or a few special cars, waiting on the siding at about 1:50 A.M. for those night owls to finish their dance. In the 70's and 80's many of those who attended Hinsdale functions lived in Chicago.
In the following year the reporter gives us a view of the ballroom floor at the annual masquerade:
"The masquerade party at Stough's Hall Friday evening ..... was participated in by about 200 persons ..... Many of the characters were very striking, and some of the costumes costly and beautiful in the extreme. Particularly notice- able among the characters represented were the 'Indian Chief and Queen' finely personated by Mr. and Mrs. Tiffany, who were decked in the gewgaws and paint of the savages. 'Friars' by John Robbins and Mr. Parks, was represented true to life. 'The Mexican Chieftain' by Mr. Shewell, 'Brother Jonathan' by John C. Slocum was a comical affair, while the 'Spanish Courtier' by James W. Ford was presented in very rich dress ..... 'Fancies, Fairies, and Nymphs' were ele- gantly shown by a large number of charming ladies
This annual ball continued for fifteen or twenty years, during which time the costumes never gave way to formal evening attire.
Church concerts, lectures, and receptions were frequent during these years. The churches were raising money by these means, as well as gaining new adherents. Note also how the churches helped one an- other during that period of struggle to become established:
"The people of Hinsdale were highly entertained last evening by the vocal and instrumental concert given at the Baptist Church for the benefit of the forth- coming Episcopal Church
and on another occasion:
"The Baptists, having been assisted by the members of the Liberal Church in their concerts during the past week, a concert will be given under the direction of Mrs. Tirrell at the Baptist Church tomorrow evening for the benefit of the Liberal Church."
97
THE ELEGANT ERA
Too much cannot be said of this spirit of helpfulness that per- meated the town, especially during its first thirty years. It was evident in the churches, the schools, in the acquirement of municipal facilities, and in the every-day relationship between one villager and another. The people were well acquainted, as they are in most small commu- nities, and if Bill Jones wanted to borrow Tom Smith's wheelbarrow, or a bushel of oats it was hardly necessary to ask permission. Nor was this friendly spirit ever altered or conditioned by relative means or social distinction.
Shortly after the Chicago fire, Mr. Alanson Reed, and his son John W. Reed (Reed's Temple of Music), whose property had been de- stroyed in that disaster, bought most of the land which comprises the north side of the Highlands. The H. L. Storey family (Storey & Clark, pianos), had erected a large house immediately to the south of the railroad. The Burlington could not build a station to serve only three families, but agreed to stop its trains there, on signal. The Reed's built the station, and it still stands as originally constructed during the 1870's.
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.