Most people associate Berwyn with the ubiquitous brick bungalows. Why, then, in the blocks straddling the BNSF train tracks between Oak Park and Harlem Avenues can one find Victorian Queen Anne homes mixed in with a rich variety of other architectural styles?
The Berwyn we know today is an amalgamation of many villages, one bordering on Roosevelt Road, another along Cermak Road, and another along the BNSF tracks in the area known as “South Berwyn” or the “Depot District.”
The south Berwyn story begins with speculative attempts to establish a subdivision along the Plank Road (present day Ogden Avenue) in the 1850s. In 1856, Thomas Baldwin, a prominent Cincinnati oil and leather merchant, acquired 347 acres along what is now Ridgeland Avenue in rural Cicero Township to establish a family estate. Baldwin soon aspired to repurpose his acquisition as a high-end real estate development named LaVergne.
Though the opening of the CB&Q railroad line in 1864 potentially furthered Baldwin’s ambitions, it was not until the mid-1870s, that the LaVergne stop was established at Ridgeland Avenue, alongside Baldwin’s subdivision. In the meantime, the 1873 economic depression chilled the demand for suburban homes. Following Thomas Baldwin’s death in 1876, his daughter Emma, sold most of the property to a development syndicate including Marshall Field, the legendary retail mogul. The new group filed a plat for an expanded LaVergne subdivision in 1880, and some new homes were built, but through the 1880s development still lagged.
On April 1, 1890, Chicago lawyers Charles E Piper and William J Andrews acquired the westernmost 106 acres of the La Vergne subdivision, bordered by Baldwin (now Wesley) Avenue., 31st Street, Irving (now Kenilworth) Avenue. and Ogden Avenue, and the Town of Cicero rapidly approved the development. Piper and Andrews sought to develop a commercial core at Oak Park Avenue. To that end, they approached the CB&Q Railroad about establishing an additional train stop at that location. CB&Q balked, saying there were already stops at Ridgeland Avenue. (LaVergne) and Harlem Avenue on the border with Riverside. Piper & Andrews prevailed, and donated land for new Berwyn depot.
Seeking to differentiate themselves from the previous LaVergne subdivision, Piper and Andrews cast about for a new name for their real estate development. At the suggestion of CB&Q General Passenger Agent P.S. Eustis, the new subdivision was named Berwyn, after a tony Philadelphia suburb.
Piper and Andrews energetically implemented amenities and improvements and aggressively promoted the project. A general store, office building, and post office were established near the new Berwyn depot. Macadamized streets, sidewalks and sewers were installed. The immediate success of the new development prompted Piper and Andrews to purchase more land – doubling the size of the original subdivision and extending it west to Harlem Avenue.
May 28, 1896 was a banner day in the Berwyn subdivision. Streetcar service was inaugurated along Stanley Avenue paralleling the CB&Q Railroad, and an epic celebration heralded its arrival. 800 citizens and dignitaries attended the gala event, which featured tours of the Berwyn subdivision, speeches by local officials and a luncheon in the local Masonic Hall. The Clyde Military Band (Clyde being the village along the Q to the east of LaVergne and Berwyn) gave a concert in a local park. Enthusiasm for the opening of the trolley car line prompted the composing of the song Rolling to Berwyn, sung to the tune of Marching Through Georgia, proclaiming "flashing out electric fire as they go rolling to Berwyn."
Throughout the 1890s, an undercurrent of dissatisfaction percolated through Berwyn and adjacent villages within the Town of Cicero. Disagreement focused especially on moral objection to activities associated with the nearby Hawthorne Race Track and the sale of alcoholic beverages. A petition for separation stated: "There are no saloons in Berwyn or Clyde nor will there be any in the new town."
In 1898, Berwyn and nearby villages overtly attempted to secede, but without initial success. By 1901, legal impediments had been overcome and both communities successfully voted to separate from Cicero. Piper and Andrews’ Berwyn was joined in 1902 by the older LaVergne subdivision and other developed and undeveloped (still rural) land to form the Village of Berwyn, with boundaries of 12th Street (now Roosevelt Road), Lombard Avenue, 39th Street (now Pershing Road), and Harlem Avenue. Berwyn’s immediate growth was rapid enough for the village to reincorporate in 1908 as the City of Berwyn. After 1910, population growth in the previously undeveloped parts of Berwyn gave rise to the mass-produced bungalows that have become synonymous with Berwyn
Following consolidation and incorporation, the LaVergne name began to fade. LaVergne Avenue renamed Home Avenue. CB&Q stop at Ridgeland still carries the LaVergne name, as does LaVergne’s Tavern at East Avenue.
Despite Piper and Andrews' success in establishing a thriving community along the CB&Q tracks and inspiring the Berwyn municipality name, the founders' names have vanished in present day Berwyn.
Comments