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Facts About Villa Park

 What is now Villa Park was once open prairie, criss-crossed by Indian trails. By the mid-1800s there were fifteen white families in the present-day Villa Park area. These were mostly German settlers who had come looking for good farmland. A map of the farms in 1862 shows the names of Frederick Graue, Henry Backhaus, Diedrick Meyer, August Strueber, H. F. Goltermann, Frederick Ahrens, and H. Hograue. Some of the old farmhouses still stand – the Goltermann home at 27 E. Jackson, the Potter-Finke home at 222 W. Madison, and the Meyer-Domianus home at 618 S. Ardmore. All were built before the Civil War. In a small handmade book is the first re­corded entry for School District 9, dated April 1857. J. Loy, F. Summers, and A. Hatfield were elected directors. The schoolhouse was built on two lots on the corner of St. Charles Road and Meyers Road (Westmore). The lots cost $10.00 each. N. N. Johnson was hired to teach and do janitorial work at $33.00 per month. In 1895 there were twenty-nine families. The district was renumbered District 45, which it remains today. The school was so crowded that when the Walter Olmacht family came to Villa Park in 1911, their son Frank had to delay attending a year until Ardmore School opened in 1912. Most of these same families went to the German United Reformed Luther­an Church in Dunklee’s Grove (Bensenville today).

With increasing settlement came the need for better transportation. Farmers first went to Cottage Hill (Elmhurst today) to take the Frink and Walker Stagecoach. By 1849 they traveled on the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (Chicago & Northwestern). At the close of the 19th century, the vicinity was still sparsely settled farmland. Then came the Aurora, Elgin and Chicago Railway, a double-track electric system. Florence Canfield and Louis Meyer, two farmers, granted it a right-of­way through their land The farm abstract of the Canfield land showed that it had been granted on April 1 for a consideration of $1.00. It was not long before Chicago real estate developers, Ballard and Pottinger, spotted the open land and saw an opportunity for opening a town along the new railroad. What had been rumored to become a new cemetery instead became Villa Park. Its development was unique in that it began as two separate subdivisions. Villa Park was recorded in the DuPage County Recorder’s office in 1908, and Ardmore to the west in 1910. To entice buyers of lots Ballard and Pottinger built Ardmore School, a train station, and planted hundreds of poplar trees along the newly laid-­out streets. The firm ran free Sunday promotional excursions. Those who bought acre lots had their choice of 200 baby chicks or twenty apple trees.

The new communities attracted Chicago families who wanted country living. Among them were brokers, builders, bankers, and real estate men who built attractive homes. One of these was the Charles C. Heisen home on Villa Avenue, built about 1908. The twenty-one room mansion was constructed for Heisen’s second wife, a New York actress. She took one look at muddy little Villa Park and returned to New York. Heisen was the wealthiest man in Villa Park. His office in the Harris Trust Building in Chicago was headquarters for varied business interests. He built many homes in Villa Park and presented a building for the first church, the Community Congregational Church. He also owned the only water system in town. Another interesting resident was William Calhoun, who preferred to be called “Colo­nel.” His home was also on Villa Avenue. Colonel Calhoun opened the first store in Villa Park. To inform people when the store was open for business, he flew a red flag from a tall pole on top of the store. The building was later moved around the corner to Central Boule­vard, and is now an attorney’s office. Near the Heisen home was that of John Montgomery, a Chicago banker. His son Jack became a cowboy stuntman who doubled for Tom Mix and other Hollywood stars in the 1930s. Jack’s daughter became a child star at Century Studio where she appeared in 150 two-reel comedies. She was billed as Baby Peggy. There was much rivalry between Villa Park and Ardmore. However, in order to acquire tax money for community improvements, the two subdivisions united in 1914. The Village of Ardmore was incorporated on August 8, 1914.

 Thirty years ago there were virtually no apartments in Villa Park. Today there are over 1,900 apartments, townhouses, and condo­minium units interspersed with two-story homes, modest bungalows, ranches, and split levels. The population has decreased from 25,000 to 23,185. The village has received a $40,000 state grant for devising a master plan, which will go to the DuPage Regional Plan­ning Commission for an analysis of the community. This history would not be complete without recognizing the contribution made by a variety of civic-minded men and women. Mrs. Bessie Mabee and her husband bought the first home in Ardmore. She was the first president of the Woman’s Club. She is best known for writing in 1936 the first history of Villa Park Pete McAleese worked with youths coach­ing baseball and track for three generations. He worked at R R Donnelly Company, and often rode his bicycle to work in the city. Mrs. Hilda Schulze lived in Villa Park for more than sixty years. She was known for her work as Public Health Nurse for DuPage County. Dr. L. R Cortesi started the first emer­gency medical service in the fire department.  He was also the Ovaltine and the Willow­brook sports doctor. Father Kennedy came to Villa Park in 1924. Under his leadership St. Alexander’s Church, fondly called the “Wooden Ark,” was built. It was to be only a temporary structure; but due to the Depression, it was used until 1953. The St. Alexander’s school was built in 1925 because he felt it was needed more than the church building. Father Kennedy lived to see his dream come true. The new church was dedi­cated in 1954. Since 1976 Villa Park has become history-conscious. During the bicentennial, the village purchased the two Chicago, Aurora and Elgin railroad stations. In 1977 the Villa Park His­torical Society was incorporated, as was the Historical Commission, an arm of the village government. In 1978 the historical society leased the Villa Avenue station and rededi­cated it as a museum, exactly fifty years after its construction. In 1980 the Historical Com­mission was able to obtain a listing of the Ard­more station on the National Register of His­torical Places, as an example of Prairie School architecture. Restoration of the building is underway. It will be dedicated as a halfway stop on the Prairie Path for hikers and bicy­clists.