On official 150th birthday, Barrington remembers fight to found it
Barrington residents and officials marked the exact 150th anniversary of the village's incorporation Monday with a special ceremony that kicked off a year of events further celebrating the sesquicentennial.
Among the elements of the ceremony was the Barrington Children's Choir performing a medley of Civil War songs that were popular and relevant at the time of the village's birth on Feb. 16, 1865.
That was when the state officially recognized the new village, even though the vote to incorporate had been held in 1863. The delay was caused by the more pressing concerns of the war that threatened to tear the nation apart.
Barbara Benson, former executive director of the Barrington Historical Society, said the railroad men of the time were looking to locate a new station and new town east of present-day Palatine.
They first looked at the area known as Deer Grove where Northwest Highway and Dundee Road road now intersect, but they were rebuffed by the nearby residents who feared "the evil of saloons" would soon follow.
The railroad men continued their search farther west, before buying 14 acres at the county-line road where Barrington would develop.
Tim Dunn, a former Barrington High School teacher, coach and village trustee, reminisced about growing up in the idyllic village during the 1950s and 1960s. He also marveled at how much of its character has survived into the 21st century, even in the midst of downtown redevelopment.
"Barrington has grown in population while still maintaining its quaint rural appeal," Dunn said. "It is undergoing continual changes and the center of town will have a new face in the next year. I've been fortunate to grow with the town."
Debbie Villers, Dunn's co-chairman on the Sesquicentennial Committee, laid out a schedule of further events celebrating the anniversary, culminating with a re-enactment of the notorious shootout involving "Baby Face" Nelson near present-day Langendorf Park on Nov. 27.
Village Trustee Jim Daluga brought the evening's celebration to a close by toasting the village's staff, its dedicated residents and Barrington itself.