Most motorists whizzing along I-88 east of Aurora flash past the Eola Road exit, likely unaware that the exit is even there. Where is or was Eola, the village that gave Eola Road its name?
Nestled on ten acres, eight miles east of Aurora along the BNSF train line, the little village of Eola consisting of about thirty houses and a Post Office on just two streets near the southwest corner of DuPage County, has been there for about 150 years.
The land was occupied by Potawatomi Indians until the 1830s. Potawatomi Chief Waubonsie, whose village occupied the west bank of the Fox River, used the vicinity of Eola for hunting grounds. U.S. Government policy in general and the 1833 Treaty of Chicago in particular, compelled the Potawatomi to vacate their homelands, thus opening up the region for white (European-American) settlement.
Fertile farmland and proximity to the Big Woods stand of timber east of the Fox River, made the area attractive for early settlement. In 1832, Joseph Naper, and others had established Naper’s Settlement (present day Naperville), seven miles to the east. In 1834, the McCarty brothers, Joseph and Samuel, established McCarty’s Mill along the Fox River (renamed Aurora in 1837) eight miles to the west. More settlers arrived. Frederick Stolp, from upper New York State claimed land north of Eola, roughly on the site of the present-day Stonebridge Country Club, and settled his family there in 1834. Closer to present day Eola, William Strong established his home at Eola and North Aurora Roads. Strong’s home was reportedly a haven for runaway slaves in the years preceding the Civil War.
The CB&Q Railroad opened its route between Chicago and Aurora in 1864, and a stop, first named Lund’s Crossing, was established, seemingly by a local landowner, A.A.Lund. The accompanying map from the 1874 DuPage County Atlas, depicts the location, by then hosting a cheese factory and a Post Office. The presence of the cheese factory indicates the importance of dairy farming in the region, an activity that would continue for another century.
By 1871, the little hamlet had attracted enough residents to warrant establishment of a Post Office. To their amazement, the residents found that they couldn’t name the Post Office Lund’s Crossing because another Post Office already used the name. The name Eola was chosen instead. There are multiple opinions regarding the origin of the Eola name. The most likely explanation is that George Bangs, Chicago Superintendent of the Railway Mail Service and former Aurora postmaster, suggested the name, perhaps honoring Aeolus, Greek God of the Winds, or perhaps recalling an Indian word for North Wind, or both Railroad officials cite a different name origin, namely that Eola was an acronym for End of Line Aurora. That seems unlikely since by 1871, Aurora was not the end of the line.
In 1886, Joliet steel manufacturing interests sought to extend the existing Joliet, Aurora, and Northern railroad north and east to Waukegan, as a means of reaching the iron ore boat docks in Waukegan. The railroad, renamed the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern railroad, formed a “belt” railroad, was completed in in the late 1880s, and reached all the way around the Chicago metropolitan area. In doing so, the new railroad brushed the edge of the village of Eola.
The junction of the two railroads caught the eye of real estate developers. In 1893, the Belt City Improvement Association speculatively acquired 1,000 acres of farmland for development of an industrial park and adjoining industrial town to be named Belt City. Intended for inclusion in the complex was the Swedish College & Seminary, then located in Minneapolis. Trustees of the Swedish College accepted a better offer from interests in Chicago. Instead of locating at Belt City, the school chose a site on Foster Avenue on Chicago’s North Side, and has since evolved into the present-day North Park University. Neither the Belt City industrial park or adjoining community came to fruition either, likely victims of the 1893 economic depression. Industrial development, of sorts, did come to little Eola. The Reber Preserving Company, packers of canned sauerkraut, pork and beans, asparagus, and other vegetables located its business to Eola in 1905.
Things were quiet in the isolated little village for nearly a decade when events in Aurora would change the landscape. Early in the 20th century CB&Q’s freight and passenger business had grown to where the railroad was choking itself and the community. The City of Aurora passed an ordinance requiring raising of the tracks, yards, and stations above street level, creating the need to relocate the freight yard outside the city. CB&Q chose to relocate to a small freight yard along its main line at Eola. Expansion of the Eola freight yard and construction of a roundhouse (engine servicing facility) was begun in 1913 and continued until 1918.
In the early 1920s, as a consequence of World War I labor shortage and restrictions on further European immigration, CB&Q hired Mexican laborers, who lived in boxcars on the railroad property in Eola, near but not part of, the existing village of Eola. Onset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s reduced the need for immigrant labor. Residents of Eola’s boxcar community were deported back to Mexico and the boxcar village was dismantled.
The village continued in bucolic isolation for another several decades. A beer garden operated for a short time during World War II. Paving of Eola Road and increased use of automobiles resulted in closure of the general store. 1952 saw the opening of Dry Gas Corporation, a propane supplier, south of the CB&Q railroad, the first new industry since Reber Preserving in 1905.
Reber itself lasted until 1970, when the company relocated to Wisconsin. In 1973, Burlington Northern Railroad (which had succeeded CB&Q in 1970) closed the Eola train stop.
Though late in the 20th century, little change had thus far come to the little village, the surrounding countryside was beginning massive transformation. In 1958, the East-West Tollway (I-88) opened several miles to the north. Office complexes opened along the new highway, increasing the demand for housing in the vicinity. The National Accelerator Laboratory, later named Fermilab, opened several miles north of Eola in 1973. Anticipating explosive residential growth, the City of Aurora annexed thousands of acres, nearly surrounding Eola. Aurora’s comprehensive city plan envisioned Eola Road as a focal point for residential and industrial growth.
In the mid-1990s, Eola Road was upgraded to four lanes. The main road was relocated to provide for an overpass over the railroad, leaving the old road past the Eola Post Office as an appendage. In 2008, Eola Road’s importance had grown to the point that a new I-88 interchange was established. By the early 2000s, residential development had expanded right up the edge of the little village.
Despite the regional transformation, the little village of Eola perseveres, though somewhat diminished from days gone by. In the 2020 census, Eola had seventy-six residents (down from 225 in 1952, and 108 in 1984) occupying thirty-two dwellings. There are only two streets in town, 4th Avenue and Old Eola Road. Curiously there never were 1st, 2nd or 3rd streets. There is no mail delivery, nor has there ever been. Eola residents pick up their mail at the Post Office. Despite its tiny size, Eola has its own Zip Code.
At some point economics will necessitate the closure of the Eola Post Office. The Eola name will live on as the name of the highway, the green sign on I-88, the Eola Community Center two miles to the south, and the still very active train yard. The cluster of houses will remain, a vestige of a little community that has carried on valiantly for more than 150 years.
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