Celebrations will continue throughout Clarendon Hills’ centennial year of 2024, but the village’s actual 100th birthday is Jan. 22. That marks the day Clarendon Hills was incorporated as a village.
Village President Eric Tech said Clarendon Hills will likely never merit an entry in a history book, but that doesn’t mean its history isn’t important.
“The reason our town is such a nice place to live is rooted in the thousands of people over the last 100 years that have worked to make it that way,” he said. “Things have certainly changed in town over the last 100 years, but the community remains what it was started as: a tight-knit, family friendly community.”
Tech said the history of Clarendon Hills is a shared experience for its residents, whether it’s the story of the Middaugh Farm Daisy Field, or more somberly the TWA plane crash in 1961 that killed all 78 people on board.
Daisies have had a long history in the village after mistakenly being planted by Henry C. Middaugh, one of Clarendon Hills’ earliest settlers. Middaugh purchases about 270 acres in 1870 for his mansion and farm. One year, daisy seeds were used in error, instead of grass seed, and millions of daisies grew in place of grass.
“These stories help current residents relate to the past and get a glimpse into the lives of the people that were here before them,” Tech said.
When the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad began service in the area in 1864, farmers initially used it as a milk stop, according to historical information from the village. The scenic terrain soon attracted speculators, headed up by James M. Walker, then president of the railroad, who hoped to develop a commuter suburb.
The area was platted in 1873 with a design inspired by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Accordingly, numbered lots of various shapes and sizes were placed along winding streets which followed the natural contours of the land.
The area at one time was called West Hinsdale but later named Clarendon Hills after a Boston suburb.
The first police officer was appointed in 1924, the same year the village was incorporated, Orrin Goode was the first village president, and a business district was developed to serve the growing population of commuters. Village Hall was built at 1 N. Prospect Ave. in 1965 and added onto in 1992. The first Village Manager was Lloyd Church in 1959.
A real boom in Clarendon Hills followed World War II. Population increased from 933 in 1930 to 5,885 by 1960.
Village Manager Zach Creer said village staff never leaves the history of Clarendon Hills completely behind.
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“Just last week, we were repairing an original water main from 1920s that had been fixed last sometime in the 1980s,” he said Tuesday Jan. 9. “We are always reviewing past minutes, zoning board cases, past ordinances and property records to try to determine why things are the way they are today and what sort of past precedents were set.”
Creer said doing this is important “because history ties us all together.”
“The decisions we make today will be impacting future residents for many years to come, just as we are currently working with decisions made by our forbearers,” he said. “Clarendon Hills has changed a lot over the years, with tear-downs, modern infrastructure, and regional growth, but the history is still there in its people and environment.”
Residents and visitors to the village often comment on its small-town charm. Tech said he believes that description come from the resident, unique walkability and small business community.
“We are the volunteer community, and with that comes a lot of community interactions whether it be coaching on the local Little League team, volunteering at the school, working on a committee, or with participating in one of the many local not-for-profits,” he said. “The town was structured before cars, and it is very walkable unlike most of the suburbs. You can walk nearly anywhere from town into the central business district, and we are safe enough here that people feel comfortable letting their children gather in our public spaces.
“The central business district is almost entirely local owners, and you can walk around town and people know the ice cream vendor, or flower shop owner and they know you.”
Tech said news local to the village spreads quickly.
“(It) flies faster than anyone can write it, whether it is sent through the mom’s list, or just passed around at the coffee shop,” he said. “People are very invested and care deeply about the town.”
Tech said he believes the two main reasons people move to Clarendon Hills are the schools and proximity to Chicago.
“But people choose to stay beyond the school years, as they build friendships and become part of the fabric of the community,” he said.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.