Article 4-27-07

Glen Ellyn was known as Danby from 1851 until 1874 when the name was changed to Prospect Park in an effort to alter the town’s reputation (deserved or otherwise) as a center for saloons and a hangout for ruffians. How the village got this reputation is another story, but it would take more than a change of name to improve the town and its image.

So how did the village emerge from being a rough-and-tumble place after the Civil War to its status as a desirable resort destination for Chicagoans by the 1890s? The answer has much to do with the arrival in 1885 of Professor Thomas E. Hill and his wife, Ellen.

Thomas Hill had been a teacher, a newspaper publisher and a public servant, having served two terms as mayor of Aurora. He also was the author of Hill’s Manual of Social and Business Forms, regarded by many as the pre-eminent etiquette book of the age. He and his wife brought a new level of sophistication to our town. Both their dress and their manner were refined and they inspired others to follow their lead. Shortly after his arrival, Hill succeeded Joseph R. McChesney as Village President, serving in that capacity from 1885 to 1889.

Hill also was a visionary and saw how the village, with its attrac-tive rolling terrain and situated as it was on a train line just 25 miles west of Chicago, could become a magnet for wealthy folks who wanted to escape the noise and clamor of the big city.

To complete the attraction, Hill and several local partners pur-chased much of the acreage north-east of the downtown area. They dammed a creek to create a 50 acre lake which Hill called Lake Glen Ellyn (“Ellyn” being the

Welsh spelling of his wife’s name), built a 100-room hotel on the hill overlooking the lake, and con- structed a nearby pavilion where five different natural springs pur-portedly offered healing powers for pretty much anything that ailed a person. The development of this subdivision coincided with, and arguably encouraged, the building of many of the grand Victorian style homes that also helped the Village to overcome its shoddy image.

Recognizing the contribution that Thomas E. Hill and his wife had made, and possibly to capitalize on the appeal that Lake Glen Ellyn had brought to the community, the town fathers decided in 1891 to change the name of the village to Glen Ellyn.

Without a doubt, there are multiple candidates for the accolade of best leader in the history of Glen Ellyn. But Thomas E. Hill would have to be toward the top of most people’s list. Not a bad accomplishment for a developer!