1910-2010: Elmhurst Celebrates 100 Years as a City

July 13, 1910:  Illinois Secretary of State James A. Rose certifies Elmhurst as an incorporated city under state law. 

Many current Elmhurst residents don't know it, but the town's incorporation 100 years ago was the final move in a long battle that almost tore the community apart. Many residents strongly opposed incorporation and fought the measure at every step, according to sources at Elmhurst Historical Museum.  The debate in the months between May 1909 and May 1910 was arguably the biggest civil conflict in Elmhurst history. 

But the city's leaders managed to unite the community and lead it on a path of progress.   

That path is laid out clearly in Elmhurst Historical Museum's new exhibit,  Century City, which opened Oct. 12.  The exhibit highlights the people and organizations that have shaped the community for the past 100 years.  Visitors can learn the stories of the city's founders and their vision for Elmhurst. 

Looking back, it's easy to see why the village council pushed hard for incorporation. From 1900 to 1910, Elmhurst's population increased from 1,728 to 2,360 residents.  Town leaders predicted the population would double in the next decade. Villagers desperately needed expanded sewer systems to reach the town's widening borders. City services, like fire and police protection, were entirely voluntary.  The town needed cement sidewalks, street lights and more public schools.   

It's not clear why the town was so divided on becoming a city, but evidence suggests incorporation was opposed by residents who wanted to keep the community small and rural. 

Sye Chaplan, 90, has lived in Elmhurst his entire life and remembers some of this sentiment.

"As a boy, most of Elmhurst was huge plots of farmland," he said. "I lived in one of the small neighborhoods, but I can remember farmers complaining that their town was being taken over by city folks."

In 1909, village officials held a special referendum. The vote: 156 for incorporation and 155 against.  Without a clear majority, the council tossed out the election results. 

History gets a little hazy over the next year. The incorporation debate intensified. A village council document dated from 1910 states that the debate had divided the town so strongly that the government had stalled.  The Elmhurst Press on May 14, 1910, echoed that feeling.

"It has been apparent to a proportion of the people of Elmhurst during the past year that Elmhurst has done little more than drift," the article said.

Fearing the divide could get worse, the village council moved to accept the results of the previous election and incorporate Elmhurst as a city. 

Though the council's bold decision could have divided the town even more, it had the opposite effect. The incorporation became a rallying point for residents, and the city made tremendous progress in the following decade.  

The city quickly elected public officials to run the new government.  Elmhurst's first mayor, Henry C. Schumacher, wasted no time addressing major issues. He hired a full-time police force, a city clerk and a sanitations commissioner.  He persuaded the council to levy a tax paying for pavement of all city sidewalks.  

The next 10 years saw the birth of Elmhurst Park District, York High School, Elmhurst Boosters Club and Elmhurst Public Library. And, Elmhurst's population doubled again by 1920. 

Elmhurst of 2010 is not all that different than Elmhurst in 1910, said 4th Ward Alderman Steve Hipskind at the exhibit's opening reception Oct. 14.

"There was a heated debate over two things (in 1910)," he said. "Modernization … and representation. Both of those ideas are really still with us today. We are part of a modern city and we have lots of representation.

"It's a dynamic town," he continued. "We're a town that sticks together. We're  town of neighborhoods and of neighbors."

The Century City exhibit runs through February.