Glen Ellyn, Illinois

The settlement that would become Glen Ellyn passed through seven names over the decades, including Babcock’s Grove, Stacy’s Corners, Newton’s Station, and Danby, before arriving at the name we know today. In the late 1840s, residents tried to convince the new railroad to lay tracks through their community, but the hill was too steep. A mile south, Dr. Lewey Q. Newton sold a right of way through flatter land and built a train station at his own expense, shifting the heart of town. The first train passed through in 1849.

A soldier from the village, Marcellus Jones, is credited with firing the first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg. By 1890, residents had discovered mineral springs and Glen Ellyn was promoting itself as Chicago’s newest suburb and health resort. In 1963, workers excavating a pond unearthed the bones of a mastodon, now on exhibit at nearby Wheaton College.

City Montage