Lindenhurst, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lindenhurst is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,539 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 14,403 as of 2005.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Lindenhurst is located at 42°25′9″N, 88°1′34″W (42.419270, -88.026189)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 10.6 km² (4.1 mi²). 9.6 km² (3.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (8.82%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 12,539 people, 4,235 households, and 3,472 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,301.4/km² (3,369.5/mi²). There were 4,355 housing units at an average density of 452.0/km² (1,170.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.83% White, 1.47% African American, 0.15% Native American, 3.01% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.05% of the population.

There were 4,235 households out of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.3% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 14.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the village the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $74,841, and the median income for a family was $78,271. Males had a median income of $54,167 versus $33,935 for females. The per capita income for the village was $27,534. About 1.1% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

The Village of Lindenhurst grew out of the farm of a wealthy landowner in northern Illinois. The Ernst E. Lehmann farm, known as Lindenhurst, was acquired by developer Morton “Mort” Engle, who bought it from Lehmann family friend Edna Siebel. The name Lindenhurst came from the two rows of linden trees outlining the original farmhouse. Engle subdivided the 600-acre farm in 1952, and in 1953, the first homes were built behind what is now Linden Plaza. Engle Homes at the time cost $12,000-$15,000, roof extra. “The idyllic family homes of Lindenhurst offered the perfect solution for a home-hungry nation,” states local historian Joseph Brysiewicz.

Incorporation papers for Lindenhurst were filed in November 1956 with Lake County Judge Minard Hulse. The first village officials were elected in a December 1956 election, with 90% voter turnout.

The first village president was Lee R. Lewis, and meetings were held on Saturdays to accommodate the commuting members of the board and community. The first meeting was held in the home of trustee Helen Skelton. Another election - mandated by law - was held in April 1957, and Robert Randall was elected the new president. The board held fundraisers like dances to purchase such things as stationary and record books. After his first year in office, President Randall reflected on the successes: ordinances and zoning laws had been passed, roads were being graded, snow removed, and police were patrolling the village. Running water from a tower near Fairfield Road and Hawthorne Drive arrived in the late 1950s.

The village population was now 1,000, and the village had its first business, Thor’s Shell, at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Lindenhurst Drive. The first school was completed in September 1958. Built on land from the Howard Bonner farm and redistricted from the Millburn school district to Lake Villa District 41, the school was named B.J. Hooper School after District 41 school board president and prominent Lake Villa citizen B.J. Hooper. The Lindenhurst police force was all-volunteer at first, buying their own uniforms and using their own cars; fundraisers were held to pay for salaries and a patrol car. By 1960, the first major commercial development in Lindenhurst was the building of Linden Plaza, featuring Slove Bakery, Village Laundry, Linden Cleaners, and Piggly Wiggly. Other businesses established in Lindenhurst included Linden Texaco, Linden Barber Shop, Ben Franklin Variety Store, and Stretch-A-Dollar Clothing Store. The Lindenhurst Civic Center, founded as an outlet for teen fun, built its own facility in 1961 using the remains of the original Lindenhurst Farm ice house to anchor its building. It served as a meeting place for groups and organizations, card parties, socials, polling place, wedding receptions and family reunions.

A school for the old Lindenhurst farm served as village hall until it burned down, and the offices moved to Linden Plaza. In 1961, Ted Flanagan was elected mayor, and 200 houses were being built each year, under the control of the single developer, Mort Engle. People moved to Lindenhurst because of the affordable housing and the reasonable commute to Chicago or Milwaukee. There were 550 additional acres annexed into the village, and the growth of Lindenhurst brought up school and public safety issues. A full-time police position was created in 1963, and the village acquired a reputation as a “speed trap,” due to radar use by Police Chief Ron Coles. Reginald French took over as mayor in 1965. The village created its first sanitary district, replacing individual septic systems with a sewer system. Streets were paved and gutters installed during this period as well. Ted Flanagan was reelected mayor in 1969 and served until 1983.

By 1970, the village numbered 3,141 people. The village offices couldn’t be crammed into Linden Plaza any longer, and the new village hall that was built in 1974 housed office space, the mayor, the police department, the building inspector, and the village garage. By 1980, the village population swelled to 6,220. After building an estimated 2,000 homes, Mort Engle sold his remaining 250 acres to the U.S. Home Corporation and 200 acres to the Federal Life Insurance Company and moved to Arizona. Robert Ratch was elected mayor in 1983. Besides the village’s 25th anniversary, the 1980s brought the village its first stoplight at Grand Avenue and Sand Lake Road, cable TV access, fast food (Cindy’s Chicken), and a budget of $1.5 million dollars. Lindenfest was founded by volunteers in 1983. It grew out of tents and booths set up by local clubs and organizations in the village hall parking lot. Today it boasts a carnival, games, contests, marathons, and music. Other additions to Lindenhurst in recent years include Victory Lakes, the Lindenhurst-Lake Villa Chamber of Commerce, and the Lindenhurst Park District.

The population in 1990 was 8,044 and is over 14,000 today. According to a 1999 Lake Villa and Lindenhurst Review article, Village Administrator James Stevens said Lindenhurst “has been able to keep the small town flavor, in large part, through selective land annexation, and by carefully choosing developers for high quality but diversified housing types, including single family, town homes and condominiums. And all the housing types have to be integrated with the lakes, marshes, open space and forested areas of the village.” The Lindenhurst motto is “Developing Today for Tomorrow.”

Normally a very quiet community that does not make much news, Lindenhurst became front-page headline material on November 27, 2006, when the village's first homicide in over nine years took place. A Burger King manager was slain in an apparent robbery at the national fast-food chain's Lindenhurst franchise.