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Des Plaines - Illinois - History |
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It was not until 1857 that land speculators involved in the construction of a railroad between Chicago and Janesville, Wisconsin, recorded the "Town of Rand," predecessor to Des Plaines. They named it for Socrates Rand, who had purchased the steam powered saw mill built to cut ties for the railroad. Set up near the river in what is now downtown Des Plaines, Rand converted the saw mill into a grist mill that served area farmers. The railroad was the Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad. In 1859, the Rand station was purchased by the Chicago and Northwestern which renamed it the Des Plaines station. Ten years later, the Town of Rand became Des Plaines to take advantage of the station's identity.
Des Plaines entered the twentieth century as a prosperous and growing community. It adopted the city form of government in 1925 and annexed the village of Riverview that year. In 1956, it annexed another community - Orchard Place - a village like Riverview that had developed along with Des Plaines. However, much of Orchard Place was later lost to construction of the Northwest Tollway.
Local history is cherished and guarded by members of the Des Plaines Historical Society, who for nearly 30 years have actively collected and preserved historical artefacts. These are displayed in the Beniamin F. Kinder House museum. a structure built in 1906 located in downtown Des Plaines. Today, Des Plaines is a modern city with a population in excess of 53,000. It welcomes the challenges of the future with confidence and courage. |
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In
1833, when the Treaty of Chicago was signed, ending the Indian Wars, only
a few determined pioneers occupied the land around the present site of Des
Plaines. They held no titles to the land.
Into
this environment in 1835 came Socrates Rand and his parents, among the
earliest recorded settlers of the area. It was an era of temperance,
prayer meetings, and Bible readings. Itinerant ministers riding a circuit
on horseback stopped periodically to preach.
Between
the late 1840s and the late 1870s, a wave of European immigrants,
particularly German, flowed into the United States and into the Des
Plaines area, strongly influencing its future.
Following
World War II, Des Plaines, and many of the other suburban communities,
experienced rapid growth. It was the era of expressways and mass movement.
Population totals climbed continuously as people moved out of Chicago or
came from other cities to live and work in the area.
