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La Grange, Illinois
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History
The area around La Grange was first settled in the 1830s, when Chicago residents, already fed up with the rapid population increase in that city in the decade since its incorporation, moved out to the west. The first settler, Robert Leitch, came to what is now La Grange in 1830, a full seven years before the city of Chicago was incorporated in March 1837. La Grange's location, at approximately thirteen miles from Chicago's Loop, is not considered far at all from the city by today's standards, but in that time the residents enjoyed the peace of rural life without much communication with urban residents.
Incorporated on June 11, 1879, the Village of La Grange was the dream of Franklin Dwight Cossitt, born in Granby, Connecticut and raised in Tennessee, who moved to Chicago in 1862 and built a successful wholesale grocery business.
In 1870, Cossitt purchased several hundred acres of farmland in Lyons Township, along the Chicago-Dixon Road, known today as Ogden Avenue. Ogden Avenue, on the site of a defunct Native American trail, was also referred to as the "Old Plank Road". Planks were often stolen by settlers to be used as building material, which made travling very bumpy. When the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad came to town, La Grange was a milk stop called Hazel Glen. A few miles to the south, through present day Willow Springs, the Illinois and Michigan Canal had emerged as a major shipping corridor, connecting Chicago and the Great Lakes with the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
Cossitt set out to build the ideal suburban village - laying out streets, planting trees, donating property for churches and schools, and building quality homes for sale. He also placed liquor restrictions in the land deeds he sold to prevent the village from becoming a saloon town.
When Cossitt began his development, the area was served by a post office known as Kensington. But upon learning of another community already with that name in Illinois, Cossitt decided to name his town in honor of La Grange, Tennessee, where he had been raised as a youth on an uncle's cotton farm. However, today Kensington remains the name of one of the village's major streets.
After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed much of that city, thousands of its citizens sought new homes and opportunities far from the city's ills but within a convenient commute. La Grange was ideally situated to accommodate them.
GeographyLa Grange is located at (41.807938, -87.873455), about west of Chicago.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 kmē), all of it land. Two major railroad tracks run through the village, including the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and the CSX/Indiana Harbor Belt lines.
Some 14,000 years ago, the land under La Grange sat on the western shore of Lake Chicago, predecessor to Lake Michigan. The prehistoric shoreline today is delineated by Bluff Avenue, a north-south street on the village's east side.
DemographicsAs of the census of 2000, there were 15,608 people, 5,624 households, and 4,049 families residing in the village. The population density was 6,220.7 people per square mile (2,400.9/kmē). There were 5,781 housing units at an average density of 2,304.1/sq mi (889.3/kmē). The racial makeup of the village was 91.02% White, 6.02% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.66% of the population.
The top five ancestries reported in La Grange as of the 2000 census were Irish (25.2%), German (24.8%), Polish (10.5%), Italian (10.2%) and English (9.7%). were 5,624 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the village the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $80,342, and the median income for a family was $95,554. Males had a median income of $62,030 versus $41,260 for females. The per capita income for the village was $34,887. About 3.2% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The Village of La Grange is a non-home rule municipal corporation and operates under a board-manager form of government. A seven-member board of trustees, elected as provided by state law, serves four-year overlapping terms. A village manager is appointed by the board.
The village has six operating departments: administration, finance, police, fire, community development and public works.
The village is in Illinois' 3rd congressional district, and is represented by Dan Lipinski.
The village is served by the Park District of La Grange with a five-member board of commissioners, elected as provided by state law, which serves four-year overlapping terms. An executive director is appointed by the board.
Business and commerceLa Grange is the mailing address for the headquarters of General Motors' Electro-Motive Division, a major manufacturer of railroad locomotives. The headquarters, engineering facilities and parts-manufacturing operations actually are located in the adjacent village of McCook; originally, the locomotives were also built there, but in more recent years final assembly has moved to GM-EMD's other facility in London, Ontario.
The downtown area, centered along and around La Grange Road (US Hwy 45) and the BNSF Railroad line, grew somewhat run-down during the 1980s; however, the mid-to-late 1990s saw a revival, with many new businesses opening, including a Borders Books. Many of these new businesses are restaurants; LaGrange draws much of this business from the neighboring town of Western Springs, since Western Springs did not allow the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants until recently. In June 2006, animal statues were placed around the downtown area, mimicking the famous Chicago Cows.
This expansion of the downtown led to increased congestion; often, parking became difficult to find, especially on weekends. One proposal to remedy this was the building of a parking garage in a current parking-lot area; some very vocal residents, however, opposed this as a waste of tax dollars. Eventually, a referendum on the parking garage was passed; ground was broken on March 3 2005. The parking structure is now complete and operational. The parking structure was paid for by a grant from the state for the advancement of public transportation. (Increase the amount of spaces available for the train commuters therefore increasing the use of the train.) The upkeep is paid for by an increase in the sales tax at restaurants and other entetainment establishments. There was no increase in the local property taxes.
La Grange holds numerous public activities and festivals. The annual Pet Parade celebrated its 60th anniversary June 3 2006. Art fairs, historic housewalks, carnivals, and farmer's markets are also common, mostly taking place in the downtown area.
Transportation
Two major highways traverse La Grange: The village's main street, La Grange Road (U.S. Routes 12/20/45) runs north-south; Ogden Avenue runs east-west. U.S. 34 intersects with the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), west of the village, while U.S. 12/20/45 intersects Interstate 55 south of the village.
The BNSF Railroad also runs through La Grange. Daily commuter service on that line, connecting Aurora and Chicago, is provided by Metra, and stops at two stations within the village: Stone Avenue and La Grange Road. Amtrak also serves the station nearest La Grange Road. Freight rail traffic on the line is extremely heavy, with BNSF operating freight trains on all three mainline routes through the village. During non-rush hours, a freight train may run along the line as frequently as once every ten minutes on average.
Passenger airline service is available at O'Hare and Midway airports, both located in Chicago. A proposed passenger rail line connecting the two airports would have a station in La Grange.
Commuter bus service is provided by Pace, the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority.
LaGrange was once home to a municipal air field called Stinson Airport. The airport was closed in the late 1950s and is now a large quarry. Joliet Road (Formerly US 66) runs through the site but was closed due to damage sustained from the quarry activities.
ArchitectureA few homes in town were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. There is even a "boot-leg" house, one he designed on the side when he was supposed to be working for architect Louis Sullivan.
Trivia
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, located in downtown LaGrange, was featured in the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping. The Callaghan House was actually the house located at 203 S. 8th Street. (LaGrange Area Historical Society)
Public Schools
La Grange has public elementary schools, including two of four which are in LaGrange Elementary School District 102, Cossitt School (named after Franklin Cossitt) and Ogden Avenue School (named after the local name for U.S. Route 34, which in turn is named after William Butler Ogden, first mayor of Chicago). Park Junior High is also part of District 102. Two other elementary schools, in La Grange, are part of La Grange Elementary School District 105 including Seventh Avenue School and Spring Avenue School, both located on the streets that share their names. Gurrie Middle School also serves the District.
There are also two Catholic and one Lutheran elementary schools in the village limits.
Lyons Township High School in La Grange, originally founded in 1888, now has 2 campuses.The North Campus, located in La Grange, is used by Juniors and Seniors and was the original high school. Freshmen and Sophomores go to South Campus, founded in 1956, located in neighboring Western Springs. The Campus was split due to lack of available land for expansion around the original building. Previously there also was a junior college associated with the high school but due to increasing enrollment, lack of space, and new rules that separated junior colleges from high schools, it was merged with College of DuPage in 1967. When it was open, Lyons Township Junior College was nicknamed LTHS, due to its location near the clock tower.
HealthLa Grange Memorial Hospital, operated by Adventist Health System, is a level-two trauma center. The hospital has 270 inpatient beds. A $79 million renovation and expansion of the facility was completed in early 2007.
Notable people
External links
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