
Historic Glen Ellyn
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Go Boilers!
N 41° 53.389 W 088° 03.875
16T E 411681 N 4638090
A stroll through time in suburban Chicago.
Waymark Code: WM62TQ
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 03/23/2009
Views: 21
Stop 1: Stacy's Tavern - Opened in 1846. The inn was a mid-point between Chicago and the Fox River for stage coach riders. For 50 cents guests could expect overnight lodging, two meals, and hay for two horses. They could wash with water drawn from the tavern's inside well, warm themselves near a cast-iron stove on a cold winter's night, and share their bed with fellow travelers. Law prohibited Stacy from putting up more than five guest to a bed. The coming of the railroad (Stop 5) spelled the end of Stacy's Tavern as a wayside inn. Moses and his wife continued to use the structure as their residence until their deaths in 1870 and 1889, respectively.
Head south on Main Street .6 miles to Hawthorne.
Stop 2: Glen Ellyn Main Street Historic District - There are several Queen Anne, Gothic Revival , and Victorian houses along Main Street. A good example is 564 Main. It was built by William C. Newton in 1891. He was a prominent business and farmer. He served on the earliest Village Board, which held its first meeting on August 1,1882 in the train depot.
Head south on Main Street .3 miles to Pennsylvania.
Stop 3: Glen Ellyn VFC Station & Centennial Monument. On October 11, 1907, the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Department was chartered. Edgar H. McChesney, village president, appointed Harry J. Blackburn Fire Chief and 22 men were enrolled to serve as volunteer firefighters, during a village hall meeting.
Head one block south and then cross tracks.
Stop 4: Chicago Aurora & Elgin train. Just outside the Citibank a historical marker tells about the interurban train line. Passenger servie ran from 1902 - 1957. The train line later became North America's first successful rails-to-trails conversion.
Go back north across tracks and head east (right).
Stop 5: Train station. The nucleus of town shifted to the south when the railroad came through the village in 1849. Although no stop was planned for the area, Lewey Q. Newton deeded a right-of-way to the railroad and offered to build a depot and water tank at his own expense if it would permit a stop there. This became known as Newton Station. Within three years, the new postmaster named the town Danby after his birthplace in Vermont.
Head east to Ellyn Avenue and then north until the road ends
Stop 6: Lake Ellyn. In 1889, Thomas E. Hill and Philo Stacy arranged to dam the stream near town to form Lake Glen Ellyn, named for the glen where it rests and a Welsh spelling of Hill's wife's name, Ellen. The following year, nearby mineral springs were discovered.
Recommended Time for this WayTour: From: 1:30 PM To: 4:30 PM
 Stop Coordinates: Stop 2: 41.880945, -88.066845
Stop 3: 41.877622, -88.066823
Stop 4: 41.875737, -88.066877
Stop 5: 41.876432, -88.065311
Stop 6: 41.881528, -88.061373
 Starting Address for this WayTour: Geneva Road just west of Main Street Glen Ellyn, IL USA 60137
 Number of Stops: 6
 Website of stops: [Web Link]
 Stop Website: [Web Link]

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