Village of Glen Ellyn history

When Moses Stacy built his inn-farmhouse in 1846 at Stacy’s Corners he served farmers from as far away as the Rock River.

The first train passed through Glen Ellyn in 1849.

The name of Newton Station lasted only until the first station master arrived in 1851.

Religious services were conducted by circuit riders until the first Congregational church was established in 1862.

In 1874 the townspeople observed their first forty years by changing the name of Danby to Prospect Park.

In the 1880’s Prospect Park transformed into a Chicago suburb.

In 1889 Thomas E. Hill and Philo Stacy arranged to dam the stream near town to form Lake Glen Ellyn, named for the glen in which it rests and a Welsh spelling of Hill's wife's name, Ellen.

The Wheaton Illinoian described the area as “one of the most picturesque and charming locations in the whole west.” Lake Glen Ellyn became so popular that in 1891 residents petitioned to change the name of their town to Glen Ellyn.

Progress and politics since 1900

The Glen Ellyn Hotel and Springs Company enhanced the springs and built Hotel Glen Ellyn, which was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire in 1906.

In 1907 Glen Ellyn's first fire department was organized.

Civil War veteran Philo Stacy, son of Moses the inn-keeper, died in 1917, one month before the United States entered World War I. Village families prayed for the 166 men who volunteered to be Doughboys.

On November 11, 1918, when news of peace rang out with the fire whistle blowing at 3:00 am., a joyous crowd gathered to laugh and sing around a bonfire at the railroad station.

By World War I, Glen Oak Country Club served the Oak Park and Glen Ellyn communities, and in 1922 the first Glenbard high school was built.

Its park district sponsored the world-famous Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, established in 1964.

The College of DuPage, founded in 1967, had become a major area educational institution.

The south side business district was given a boost in 1970 when the village government and police department outgrew the old Village Hall on Pennsylvania and moved to new quarters in the former Duane Street Junior High School.

However, as evidence of the community spirit among youths, in 1983 Glenbard West student organizations raised funds for a plaque listing the names of village men who had died in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

As Glen Ellyn geared up for the 1984 Sesquicentennial Celebration, descendants of the first families joined with newer residents to plan a gala birthday party.