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The first people to settle here came form the New England states.
They traveled here via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. Among the
first to arrive was the Thomas Andrus family. They settled along an old
stagecoach line which was roughly where I-55 was in 1835. Mr. Andrus
opened up the Andrus Inn which served the 15 stage coaches that traveled
the stagecoach line. Andrus Inn was located right about the entrance
to Carriage Way West Subdivision. The Inn included a tavern and a post
office and Mr. Andrus named the area Cass. He was Justice of the Peace
and served as the Town Clerk, Assessor and County Commissioner. His son,
Edger, would ride his horse to the Illinois and Michigan Canal and swim
across to get to the mail.
Thomas Andrus and Father Beggs built the First
Cass Church, which was a log cabin design. The church's cemetery, located
west of where the church stood (west of Baily Road and north of Frontage
Road), can still be seen today. The church was also used as a school
house. Elisha and Eliza Smart settled here in 1838 with their 10 children.
Elisha got gold fever and left for California, returning 7 years later
as a very rich man. He bought more land and the Smart family donated
the land on which a new Cass Church was built in 1870. John and Hannah
Oldfield came to Cass in 1850. Mr. Oldfield raised cattle and increased
his land holdings to 2000 acres. Franklin Blanchard opened his cheese
factory in 1881 — the location of the cheese factory being where
McDonalds is today. Martin Madden was an Irish immigrant who arrived
at the Cass area during the late 1800s. He became a member of the Chicago
City Council and later was elected to the House of Representatives and
served in the United States Congress.
In 1903, Mr. Madden built a home
to look like the White House in Washington D.C. he called it Castle Eden.
Today Castle Eden is part of the Aylesford Retreat Center of the Carmelite
Fathers. A group of German Lutherans from Europe came to the area near
67th and Clarendon Hills Road in 1859. They built the first St. John
Lutheran Church and laid out the cemetery behind the church. Today the
cemetery is still located at 67th and Clarendon Hills Road. In 1899,
a new church was built on the northeast corner of Cass and 75th Street.
The Church was located where the Taco Bell and Buona Beef Restaurant
now stand. In 1969, the second church was torn down and the present St.
John's Lutheran Church was built west of Cass and north of 75th Street.
Salerno's went out of business A school was built on the northwest corner
of Cass and 75th street in 1860. It was the first Lace School. It is
now a museum which is open on the first Sunday of each month from 2:00pm
to 4:00pm.
By 1890, the Village of Lace was established. The important
location at that time was the triangle bordered by Cass Avenue, Plainfield
Road and 75th Street. It was called "The Point". The Point
included the Town Hall, General Store, Blacksmith Shop and the office
of Dr. Roe. A Post Office had been established at The Point in 1884.
The City of Darien was originally part of these two communities — Lace
and Cass. The idea to incorporate came from a desire of some of the residents
of four subdivisions to unite into one city. Those subdivisions were
Marion Hills, Brookhaven, Farmingdale and Hinsbrook. The City of Darien
was incorporated in 1969. When the incorporation committee reached an
impasse on an acceptable name for the new city, Acting mayor Sam Kelly
suggested the name "Darien". (Kelly had visited Darien, Connecticut,
and found it to be a very pleasant and attractive community.) Today,
Darien is known as "A Nice Place to Live". Darien in Illinois
is pronounced with the accent on the first syllable; Darien in Connecticut
is pronounced with the accent on the last syllable |
