DEERFIELD VILLAGE HEADQUARTERS
In 1840, Deerfield Township was known by the name of Leclair. What you know as "Deerfield" was originally settled in 1835. The name Deerfield was given to it around 1849 or 1850 when townships were being formed in Lake County. Deerfield was named for Deerfield, Massachusetts, and also because of the deer abounding in this area. The Irish settlers had voted for the name "Erin" but they lost by four votes - 17 votes for Deerfield and 13 votes for Erin. The first local government in this area was Township government. Township meetings were held in the various homes of the residents until about 1870 when the Township Hall was built. It was first located on Deerfield Road at Ridge Avenue in what is now Highland Park. When Deerfield Township was divided in 1887 into East and West Deerfield Townships, the Township Hall was moved to 602 Deerfield Road.
The Village of Deerfield was incorporated in 1903. The first President of the Village Board was John C. Ender, whose former home still stands on the southwest corner of Waukegan Road and Westgate Avenue. The Village Board met in the Town ship Hall until 1923 when they held their Board meetings in the Masonic Temple, which had then been organized and built at 711 Waukegan Road. The Village Board met there until April of 1957 when the Deerfield Village Hall was built at its present location, 850 Waukegan Road.
SCHOOLS
School was held in Deerfield Township until 1840. School sessions were for three-month periods only in the winter and sessions were held at the Cadwell farm about where Waukegan and County Line Roads are now. Students came from as all over to attend the three-month school sessions. It was not until 1877 that schools in this area had regular nine-month terms. There was no school tax levied at that time and only students attending the school had to pay.
The first school was deeded in 1845 and built in 1847 on the northeast corner of what is now Deerfield and Wilmot Roads, and was known as the Wilmot School. In 1926, a two-room brick school was built across from it on the southeast corner of Deerfield and Wilmot Roads, which was called Wilmot School, and is still in use today as an administration building.
Cadwell School (formerly Deerfield Grammar School) was deeded in 1848 and built on the southwest corner of Deerfield and Waukegan Roads. There was no well on the school premises and the students had to cross over to the Tupper property on the northwest corner of Deerfield and Waukegan Roads and draw drinking water with an oaken bucket from a deep well. This school became known as the Deerfield Grammar School and, in 1903, it was moved eastward on Deerfield Road to what is now the site of the Deerfield School District #109 Administration Building. In 1913, it burned down and was rebuilt in that same year. The new building had six rooms, four of which were used for classrooms, one for Library and one for a student lunchroom.
Deerfield Township High School was established in 1893. The new Deerfield High School was built in 1959 and graduated its first class in 1963.
RAILROAD
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad were completed through Deerfield in early 1872. The first station was a boxcar, which was used as a temporary station until the regular station was built in late 1872. This station was on the northeast corner of Hall Avenue (now known 35 Central Avenue) and Waverly Court. The present station located on the northeast corner of Chestnut Street and Deerfield Road was built in 1900. It burned in 1917 and not even with the help of the Highland Park Fire Department could they save anything but part of the freight room. Two neighborhood women clad in their breakfast caps and morning dresses saved the express packages by placing them in a zone of safety. The station was immediately rebuilt on its present site.
The CMStP&P RR "subway" which is the underpass on Deerfield Road at the railroad tracks was really quite an achievement by the Village Board since, in 1913 they persuaded the railroad to construct the underpass at no cost to the Village. A similar one was built at Gurnee, Illinois, but the railroad would not pay for it and it cost Gurnee about $14,000 for its construction.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The first fire alarm system was a contribution from the railroad and was in the form of a railroad tire. This large metal tire hung suspended from a huge oak tree at the southeast corner of Waukegan and Deerfield Roads. The alarm was "rung" by striking the metal tire with a hammer. By 1927, the fire alarm had been modernized and the fire siren "toots" indicate the section of the Village where the fire was located. One long toot and one short toot indicated north; one long and two short indicated south; one long and three short indicated east; and one long and four short indicated west.
The Fire Department is operated as a separate governmental service under the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District, headed by commissioners. It is not part of the Village Government but the two groups coordinate their activities very closely.
POST OFFICE
The first post office in Deerfield was established in 1850 in a house located at 699 Waukegan Road. In 1927, it was located at 724 Deerfield Road. At that time, the Postmaster was struggling to secure a second class post office rating in order to have carrier home delivery for Deerfield residents. The Post Office today is located at 707 Osterman Avenue and, of course, does have home carrier service.
LIBRARY
The Deerfield Public Library was first opened in 1927 with a total of 700 books. The library was originally housed in the Deerfield Grammar School, it then moved to 762 Waukegan Road, then to 860 Waukegan Road and is now permanently located at 920 Waukegan Road.
PARK DISTRICT
The Deerfield Park District consists of 20 beautiful parks plus a 131-acre golf course. A year-round recreation program is provided for residents of all ages. Through a unique system of Park-School cooperation, the two Boards have developed a program of mutual cooperation, which benefits the entire community.
DEERFIELD CEMETERY
In 1927, the citizens of Deerfield wanted to relocate this old cemetery, which is on the northwest corner of Waukegan Road and Central Avenue, and an attempt was made to remove it on the grounds that it was not legally recorded in Waukegan. However, it was found that it had been legally recorded in 1858. The oldest date on a tombstone in the cemetery is 1848, and the next oldest is 1851. The City of Highland Park owned Lot #20 until around 1951 when they sold it. This lot was used to bury people who could not afford proper burial. Only one grave was on the lot at the time they sold it. The cemetery is administered by a Cemetery Committee, appointed by the Mayor of Deerfield, with the advice and consent of the Board of Trustees.
WASTEWATER RECLAMATION FACILITY
In 1904, stagnant water lay in all of the ditches for the entire length of the Village. The green scum and odorous condition were a constant source of complaint. Sewage was also allowed to flow in open ditches. This condition existed until 1922 when large tiles were laid in the ditches as a corrective measure. Today, we have storm sewers and sanitary sewers, which flow to the Wastewater Reclamation Facility, which takes care of all the old previous problems of this nature. There are four "lift stations" in Deerfield which raise sewer matter to a level where it can flow down by gravity to the WRF.
WATER
Individual wells were the first means of water and it was not until 1911 that
Deerfield contracted with Highland Park to lay eight-inch water mains to Deerfield from Lake Michigan. This was done at a cost of $.90 per foot, or a total cost of $13,000. By 1913, Deerfield water mains were laid at a cost of $5,500 and Lake Michigan water was contracted for with Highland Park who furnished it to Deerfield at a cost then of $.10 per 100 cubic feet of water.
TELEPHONES
Telephones came to Deerfield before electric lights. The first telephone lines were installed in 1893 when ten (the minimum number) subscribers applied for telephone service. Contract was to supply communication for 50 years and give free service for the Village Hall and the Fire Station. By 1927, Deerfield had 480 telephone. At the end of 1963, there were approximately 5,000 telephone accounts in Deerfield.
ELECTRIC LIGHTS
Electricity was brought to Deerfield in 1909. At that time, no bill could be less than $1.00 per month and contracts were for one year. Street lights in 1903 were gasoline lamps which were kept burning at a cost of $4.00 per day. In 1909, electric streetlights were installed.
RECREATION FACILITIES
Community get-togethers of the early settlers were held in the homes. Later, when schools and churches had been built, these gatherings were held there. By 1903 the Anderson Hotel had been built on the southwest corner of Deerfield and Waukegan Roads (site of the former Deerfield Grammar School). In Anderson Hall, plays, parties, and so forth were held.
PUBLICATIONS
The first publication in Deerfield was called the "Deerfield Headlight" and was a semi-monthly publication for the expression of poetry, literature and dramatics. This was published from 1878 to 1898 and was a 20 page, hand-written (in violet ink!) on foolscap and tied together at the top with ribbon. Deerfield news was published in the Highland Park paper until 1925 when the "Deerfield News" began to operate its own paper. This paper failed within a few years. In 1941, Deerfield once again had its own newspaper, the "Deerfield Review".
This paper has been published weekly ever since that date. It was by courtesy of Mrs. Ruth Pettis, former editor of the Review, the historical notes contained in this sketch were compiled since Mrs. Pettis supplied the first history of Deerfield which had been written by her mother, Mrs. Marie Ward Reichelt.
STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
The Village has a Village President-Board of Trustees type of government, with the position of Village Manager established by ordinance. The President is the Chief Executive Officer of the Village. The title of "Mayor" was added by ordinance in 1963. The Board of Trustees is the legislative body of the government, and the Village Manager is the chief administrative officer who is appointed by the President and Board of Trustees. The President and six Trustees are elected officials. The Village Clerk is appointed. Municipal elections are held every two years. Terms of office are four years.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
In 1903, the Police Department consisted of a constable who had many other duties. In 1906, there were eight automobiles in Deerfield and the speed limit was eight miles per hour. Fines ranged from $10 to $50 for exceeding the limit. To prevent this speed limit from being exceeded too easily, the crosswalks at the intersection of Deerfield and Waukegan Roads were raised almost six inches from street level, which practically caused the automobiles to come to a complete stop in order to get across the crosswalks and proceed on the way.
In 1927, the Village had its first jail and it was also housed in the Masonic Temple, together with the Village offices. The jail is now part of the new Village Hall. In 1939, a second policeman was hired by the Village as night patrolman. This was the beginning of our up-to-date Police Department.
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
In 1904, the Public Works Department consisted of a Street Commissioner who was also Constable and Fire Marshal. His duties were as follows: "Light and clean all street lights and keep them in repair; open and light up the place of meeting of the Village Board; supervise construction of sidewalks; grade streets; keep down noxious weeds from the highways; preserve order and peace about the Village and perform any other duties that may devolve upon said office." As late as 1913, the Chicago Tribune ran the following, "In Deerfield, Illinois, the Village Marshal, Constable, Deputy Sheriff, Inspector of Water Mains, Reader of Water Meters, the Fire Department, the Weed Eradicator and the Janitor of the school has resigned. Deerfield is trying to find a man to take his place."
In 1841, Lake County Highway tax for Deerfield Township residents was five days labor required of each person liable for highway tax. Deerfield Road - originally Highland Park Avenue - ran as far west as what is now Wilmot Road, and there it ended. In order to get to Plank Road (Milwaukee Avenue), the early settlers opened the gate at Wilmot farm and wandered willy-nilly over to Milwaukee Avenue. Waukegan Road was the first road through Deerfield, but it was not until the early 1920's that it was paved from County Line Road north through Deerfield.
Waukegan Road was first known as Corduroy Road, later as Telegraph Road, still later as Lincoln Avenue - and finally, as Waukegan Road. In 1905, gravel was being used on some Deerfield streets. This was obtained "free" from Libertyville. Hauling cost for the 233 loads was $1.75 per load and labor cost was $.40 per hour for grading the gravel roads. Roads were also "cindered" in the early days. In 1910, concrete road crossings were laid at the intersections of Waukegan and Deerfield Roads. In 1921, there was not a single concrete road in Deerfield, but by 1928 there were 11 ¾ miles of concrete road! The first concrete road in Deerfield was Eugene Avenue, which is now known as Westgate Road. By 1951 street maintenance required such extensive equipment that the Village garage (465 Elm Street) was built to house it. An addition was built in 1959. Additional storage facilities were required, so in 1963 a steel building was erected to store out-of-season machinery.
Sidewalks in 1903 were of three types: cinder, concrete or wood. Wooden sidewalks were made of treated pine planks laid on hemlock stringers. Approximate cost was $9.00 per 100 feet. In 1912, an ordinance was passed prohibiting cattle, horses, swine, sheep and geese from running at large and keeping them off the sidewalks. Public Works now cares for 65 miles of streets and eight bridges.
Copyright © 2002 The Village of Deerfield. All Rights Reserved.