GLEN ELLYN, ILLINOIS

'Glen Ellyn' is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the village population was 26,999.

Contents

History

Famous people

Popular culture

Education

Higher education

Public schools

Private schools

Geography

Twinned cities

See also

External links

History

Deacon Winslow Churchill and family arrived from New York in 1834 to become the first landowners in the area that is now Glen Ellyn. Moses Stacy, a soldier in the War of 1812, arrived here in 1835. His inn, Stacy's Tavern, built in 1846 and his second home, was a half-way stop between Chicago and the Fox River Valley and a probable stop for Galena stagecoaches on their way to Rockford, Illinois. Stacy's Tavern, now a historical monument, is still standing at what is now the intersection of Geneva Road and Main Street-Glen Ellyn.
The nucleus of settlement shifted to the south when the railroad came through the village in 1849. Although no stop was planned for the area, Lewey Q. Newton deeded a right-of-way to the railroad and offered to build a depot and water tank at his own expense if it would permit a stop there. This became known as Newton Station. Within three years, the new postmaster named the town Danby after his birthplace in Vermont.
Religious services were conducted by circuit riders until the first Congregational church was established in 1862. Various Protestant churches rose in the village and it would be more than 60 years before Roman Catholics built St. Petronille and the Maryknoll Seminary.
In 1889 Thomas E. Hill and Philo Stacy arranged to dam the stream near town to form Lake Glen Ellyn, named for the glen in which it rests and a Welsh spelling of Hill's wife's name, Ellen. The following year, nearby mineral springs were discovered.
In 1891 Glen Ellyn, advertised as Chicago's newest suburb and health resort, became the town's official name. The large Lake Glen Ellyn Hotel opened in 1892, the same year much of the business district was destroyed by fire. Fourteen years later, the hotel was struck by lightning and burned to the ground.
In 1907 Glen Ellyn's first fire department was organized. By the end of the twentieth century, it would be known as the last all-volunteer fire organization in DuPage County, Illinois. By World War I, Glen Oak Country Club served the Oak Park and Glen Ellyn communities, and in 1922 the first Glenbard high school was built.
The town went through several names, including Babcock's Grove, Dupage Center, Stacy's Corners, Newton's Station, Danby, Prospect Park, and finally Glen Ellyn.^[1]

Famous people

★ The musician Laurie Anderson was born and raised in Glen Ellyn. In an interview, she referred to the dreariness and boredom of growing up in a midwestern suburb as the impetus for the development of her unique style of music.

★ Politician Peter Roskam grew up in Glen Ellyn and graduated from Glenbard West High School

★ Dancer Katherine Dunham was born in Glen Ellyn in 1909.

★ Sean Hayes, actor, attended Glenbard West High School and was raised in Glen Ellyn.

★ Patricia Tallman, actress, attended Glenbard West High School

★ Amy Carlson, actress, attended Glenbard West High School

★ Bobby Rahal, Indycar Driver, winner of the Indianapolis 500

★ Former ESPN Dream Job winner and current Big Ten Network anchor Mike Hall

★ Buffalo Bills safety, Matt Bowen, graduated from St. Petronille grade school and Glenbard West High School.

★ Mystery writer Jeffery Deaver is a graduate of Glenbard West High School

★ The playwright Larry Shue has written popular plays such as ''The Foreigner'' and ''The Nerd''

★ Famous Actor Gary Sinise attended Glenbard West for a short period of time.

★ Baseball Hall of Famer Billy Williams

Popular culture

Glen Ellyn is the setting for the novel ''The Girl Who Owned a City'' by O. T. Nelson. The protagonist lives at 734 Grand Ave, in the Lake Ellyn area of the village. After a virus kills all adults on the planet, she, with several other children, moved into Glenbard West High School.
Glen Ellyn and Glenbard West High school were used as the setting in the movie ''Lucas'', Winona Ryder's first movie, also starring Charlie Sheen.
Glen Ellyn was also used in June 2007 for the movie ''Witless Protection'', featuring Larry the Cable Guy. The film is set to be released in 2008.

Education

Higher education

The main campus of College of DuPage is also in Glen Ellyn. Its most famous alumni are comedy legend John Belushi and his brother Jim Belushi.

Public schools

Glen Ellyn's primary schools are part of Glen Ellyn School District 41 and Community Consolidated School District 89. Its high schools are a part of Glenbard Township High School District 87.

★ High schools

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★ Glenbard South High School

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★ Glenbard West High School

★ Middle schools

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★ Glen Crest Middle School

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★ Hadley Junior High School

★ Elementary schools

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★ Abraham Lincoln Elementary School

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★ Arbor View Elementary School

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★ Benjamin Franklin Elementary School

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★ Churchill Elementary School

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★ Forest Glen Elementary School

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★ Park View Elementary School

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★ Westfield Elementary School

Private schools

★ Montessori Academy of Glen Ellyn

★ Phillip J. Rock Center and School

★ St. James the Apostle

★ St. Petronille

Geography

The Village of Glen Ellyn is located at (41.870979, -88.063011). It is a suburb of Chicago, which lies about 20 miles to the east.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 17.2 km² (6.6 mi²). 17.1 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.30%) is water.
Lake Ellyn

Twinned cities

★ Calatayud Aragón
There is even a street called Glen Ellyn in Calatayud.

See also

★ Glen Oak Country Club

External links

★ Glen Ellyn official website