Hazel Crest is a village
in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population
was 14,816 at the 2000 census. The Village is located
in the Chicago Southland region and is approximately
25 miles (40 km) from the Chicago Loop.
Hazel Crest was first settled in 1870
in a farming community known as South Harvey. An enterprising
newspaper editor named William McClintock moved here
from Ohio in 1890, buying 80 acres from farmer Fred
Puhrman.
McClintock built a depot so that
the local milk train would stop here, and this single
move opened up transportation opportunities to Chicago
and beyond. The little depot which he built served as
the area's first real estate office, a public meeting
place, a Sunday School room, a day school, and eventually,
the post office. In 1900, the name was changed to Hazel
Crest to reflect the large numbers of hazelnut bushes
that grew on a rise of land just South of town. At the
time, the southern border was 175th Street and the western
edge of the Village was Kedzie Avenue.
Hazel Crest was incorporated
in 1912. Many of the families of the early residents
still live in the Village, and they continue the founders
tradition of community involvement and commitment to
excellence.
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