Lake Villa Township, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Lake Villa Township is located in northwestern Lake County
Lake County, Illinois
Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The population was 33,721 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Lake Villa Township covers approximately 26 square miles (67.3 km²). Geologically, it is a region of glacial till, with numerous glacial lakes and wetlandsGlacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
. Principal lakes are Cedar Lake, Deep Lake, Crooked Lake, Sand Lake, Miltmore Lake, and Fourth Lake.
Municipalities include the Village of Lake Villa
Lake Villa, Illinois
Lake Villa is a village in Lake County, Illinois United States. The population was 5,864 at the 2000 census. Lake Villa lies within Lake Villa Township...
and the Village of Lindenhurst
Lindenhurst, Illinois
Lindenhurst is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,539 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 14,403 as of 2005...
, as well as parts of the Villages of Old Mill Creek, Round Lake Beach
Round Lake Beach, Illinois
Round Lake Beach is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,859 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 28,253 as of 2005.-Geography:Round Lake Beach is a mid-size town located at ....
, and Round Lake Heights
Round Lake Heights, Illinois
Round Lake Heights is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,347 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Round Lake Heights is located at ....
. Unincorporated localities of long standing are Venetian Village, West Miltmore, and Third Lake.
History
Lake Villa Township was created in 1913 from parts of AntiochAntioch Township, Lake County, Illinois
Antioch Township is located in Lake County, Illinois. The population was 21,879 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Antioch Township covers an area of ; of this, or 15.82 percent is water...
, Avon
Avon Township, Lake County, Illinois
Avon Township is a township in Lake County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 54,957.-Geography:Avon Township covers an area of ; of this, or 4.79 percent is water...
, and Grant Townships
Grant Township, Lake County, Illinois
Grant Township is a township in Lake County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 17,397. Grant Township changed its name from Goodale Township on an unknown date.-Geography:...
. Early settlements, long predating the creation of the Township, included Monaville and Stanwood. In 1883, the Chicago businessman Ernst Johann Lehmann bought 300 acres (1.2 km²) in Stanwood, had the name changed to Lake Villa, and established the Lake Villa Hotel. Lehmann encouraged the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company to lay its new railway through the area, and in 1886 the new line opened with a station in Lake Villa. The Lehmann family would come to dominate the immediate area, for a time.
The railroad acted as a spur to enterprise beyond the farming which was the mainstay of the larger region. Resorting was the principal industry in the Township into the 1930s. Prior to modern refrigeration, ice-cutting drew seasonal labor.
The most important development following the Lehmann Era was probably the creation of the village of Lindenhurst, subdivided by N. H. Engle and Sons in 1952 on the former Lehmann estate. The village was incorporated in 1956 and quickly became a force in the Township.
Over the past decade the Township landscape has become increasingly marked by subdivisions and strip malls, with a corresponding reduction in farm- and woodland. However, large areas of green space have been preserved by the Lake County Forest Preserves; units include Duck Farm, Grant Woods, Hastings Lake, and MacDonald Woods.
Government Officials
Township supervisor : Dan VenturiTownship clerk : Kathy Renninger
Township trustees : Glenn McCollum
- Terry Beadle
- Paul Berker
- Barbara Stout
Township highways : Jim Jorgensen
Township assessor : Jeffrey Lee
Documentation
Brysiewicz, Joseph W. Chicago's metropolitan fringe : Lake Villa, Illinois : the construction of multiple historical narratives [Lake Forest, Illinois : Lake Forest College,] 2001.Brysiewicz, Joseph W. Lake Villa Township, Illinois Chicago : Arcadia Publications, 2001.