A Brief History of Berwyn, IL
The city of Berwyn is located in Cook County, Illinois, and is home to more than 56,000 people. The land that it sits on today was once cold marshland. When the glaciers receded, Lake Chicago was formed. Over time, the lake shrank and eventually, became Lake Michigan. The stream connecting this lake and the Illinois River was named Mud Lake, which extended to just shy of the southern border of the city.
The Beginnings of Berwyn
Development of the city began in 1846 when Theodore Doty received the first deed for the land. He constructed Plank Road, which is now Ogden Avenue. Ten years later, 347 acres of land bordering this avenue and several others were purchased by Thomas F. Baldwin. This developer dreamed of creating a wealthy, aristocratic community he would call LaVergne. Unfortunately, few people had interest in living on the grassy marshland that flooded regularly and could only be reached on a single road via horse and buggy.
Undaunted, Baldwin imported thousands of trees and constructed roads throughout the community. In 1862, he sold an 80-foot tract to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad for a railroad extension into the community. The rail line opened two years later but the train did not make regular stops. The railroad would not build a station in LaVergne so residents built it themselves.
Growth Halts and Restarts
The financial panic during 1873 and death of Baldwin three years later halted the growth of LaVergne. In 1879, Emma Baldwin, the daughter of the developer, sold most of this land to a realty group controlled by Marshall Field. A dozen new homes were erected by the end of 1880 and eight years later, the community had grown so much that the Baldwins donated land for construction of a school, the first public building.
Two attorneys from Chicago, Wilbur J. Andrews and Charles E. Piper, purchased 106 acres of LaVergne land in 1890 and doubled their holdings just one year later. Their construction included a railroad station, named after a subdivision in the Philadelphia suburbs. The name stuck, with all area settlements carrying the name after 1901.
Andrews and Piper developed the southern section of the city. John Kelly, a realtor, builder, insurance salesman, and community activist worked on the northern area. In 1908, Berwyn received a city charter and soon became the fastest-growing suburb in the area. Today, many of the elaborately designed early 1900s bungalows remain and the population has become more diverse, representing the melting pot that characterizes America.