Lake Ellyn Park

Lake Ellyn Park. . , Centuries of Visitors , Visitors of all kinds have been coming here for thousands of years, attracted by the rich natural resources, the unusual topography, the nearby wetlands, and the mineral springs. As the last glaciers retreated 10,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians came to hunt mastodons and other megafauna. As the mastodon-era came to an end, a succession of Native Americans continued to move through the area, hunting and gathering in the nearby wetlands. When European settlers arrived in 1834, they found a large band of Pottawatomie camped in what today is called the Churchill Woods Forest Preserve. The area continued to attract people. As word spread of the settlement known as Stacy's Corners, large extended family groups moved here from the east. Small businesses took root and grew. When the Civil War broke out, young men from the area enlisted to serve in the Union Army. Those who survived returned home., In 1892, a group of local businessmen had an idea. They believed that creating a small lake might attract more people to their town. "The Prospect Park Improvement Association" was formed. They dammed two streams and an artesian spring and Lake Ellyn was born!, A Luxury Hotel on the Ridge , In addition to the recently-created lake, a luxury hotel would soon be built on the eastern ridge overlooking the new lake. To the surprise of the visionary developers, the stock market crash of 1893 and the five year depression that followed doomed the enterprise from the start. Building plans for the Glen Ellyn Hotel and Springs were scaled back, replacing the original plan for a heated brick building with an unheated lumber structure. In 1893, a few months after the stock market crashed, developers broke ground on the 100-room, elegantly-furnished Hotel Glen Ellyn. The grounds were lavishly landscaped with walkways, gardens and fountains., By 1896, the platted land surrounding the lake was offered for sale with the promise that, "every purchase of 50 feet or more.... will receive free use of the Park, Lake, and Mineral Springs for all time...Every foot of property in these subdivisions...is sure to double in value by July 1, 1896." Surprisingly, parcels nearest the lake did not sell., For several short years after its completion, the luxurious Hotel Glen Ellyn was a popular destination. People came to enjoy the natural beauty of the area and the Five Mineral Springs just north of the lake. They came to boat, fish, dance under the stars on an open-air dance floor, enjoy carriage rides around the lake, drink from the mineral springs, and bathe in the healing mud near the springs., Caption Open-air dance hall, courtesy of the Glen Ellyn Historical Society, The Brief Life of the Hotel Glen Ellyn , During the grand hotel's 12-year existence, its occupancy and function fluctuated like a roller coaster 1893 Stock market crashes. , Construction begins on the Hotel Glen Ellyn. , The Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago., 1894 Davitt &Thomas Chidester assume operation of the hotel. , Due to financial troubles, C.E. Raymond, special agent of the Hotel and Mineral Springs, puts the property up for sale. , The property does not sell., 1894 O.B. Stratton Company of Chicago leases and runs the hotel. , 1895 "The Glen Ellyn Club," a private association from Chicago, rents the property as a quiet summer home for the families of men who work and live in the city., 1902 St. Luke's Society rents the property as a health clinic. , Financial difficulties force them to move out., 1903 Ruskin College, a socialist institution from Missouri, rents the building. The college also experiences financial difficulties and is forced to leave., 1905 During the remainder of the season the building is operates as a free hospital by the Chicago Tribune Company., 1906 By the end of the season, the building is vacant. , W. P. Jordan becomes the overseer. , Fire! , On May 3, 1906 during the height of a thunderstorm. lightning struck the vacant Hotel Glen Ellyn. Everyone in Glen Ellyn heard the fire whistle and word rapidly spread. The old hotel was on fire! Many men were already away at work. Those still in town hurried to the scene of the fire to help, but the wooden structure was too far gone. Hundreds gathered in the downpour to watch the building burn. Trains stopped to allow passengers the chance to witness the end of the grand hotel. In less than two hours, the building was leveled by the fire. Since the building had been vacant, there were no casualties Because the insurance on the building had not been paid, the structure was a total loss., Details from the Glen Ellyn Enterprise Newspaper courtesy of the Glen Ellyn Historical Society , Photo by Josh Edelston, Getty Images, Building Another Attraction , "What people are ashamed of usually make the best stories." F. Scott Fitzgerald , In 1900, Madame Emily Reick and her husband moved their brothel from downtown Chicago to Glen Ellyn. They had been quietly purchasing lots along the east side of Lake Ellyn and along the west side of Riford Road. The Reick's new brothel was established in a remodeled mansion northeast of the lake on Crescent Boulevard and Riford Road, just north of the Hotel Glen Ellyn. The nearby train stop on Crescent Boulevard offered wealthy businessmen an easy ride from the city to visit the luxurious brothel. Business boomed, and Madame Reick built a second splendid guest house on the grounds of her property and named it "Venusberg. In 1911, the Temperance Movement closed down all of the town's taverns and brought an end to Madame Reick's brothel., Caption The photo above was taken in the winter of 1910, courtesy of the Glen Ellyn Historical Society , Birth of a Park and Board , In 1919, the lake and southern portion of land were purchased via referendum by the newly formed high school district. The Glen Ellyn Park Board was. voted into being. Three years later, the Glenbard High School District turned over supervision of the lake and much of the adjacent property to the Park Board. Much of the land adjacent to the lake never sold and is, in part, why this beautiful 25-acre park exists today.