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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; 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
where 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 20th 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.
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