How Meyn's blacksmith shop ended up in Mount Prospect

John Meyn was Mount Prospect's blacksmith and wagon maker from 1885 until well into the 20th century.

In those days, blacksmithing was essential to the survival of any community, so Meyn can be credited for helping to transform the lonely train stop between Des Plaines and Arlington Heights into a viable commerce center.

Meyn emigrated to the United States from Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in 1882 when he was just 19. He had learned his trade in Germany and was assisting at a blacksmith in Arlington Heights when John Conrad Moehling convinced him to relocate and open his own shop.

In fact, Moehling built that shop for Meyn at the northwest corner of what today is Northwest Highway and Route 83 and allowed him to live with his own family for about a year.

Meyn wrought iron tools, hardware and shoes for the horses that were essential for farming and transportation in those days. He also made and repaired the horse-drawn wagons that people needed to move goods and themselves.

It is said that Meyn was often at his forge, pounding iron and shoeing horses late into the night in order to keep up with the demand for his services.

In 1886, Meyn married a local girl - Christine Henningsmeier, one of 10 daughters of Fred Henningsmeier, who had a farm south of the tracks, near today's intersection of Lincoln Street and Route 83.

The couple immediately had a home built for $350 next to the blacksmith shop and in it they raised seven children. An eighth died in infancy. The children were named Laura, Herman, Bertha, Elsie, William, John Jr., Christine and Adele.

Three of those sons went on to also make their mark on Mount Prospect history.

Herman followed his father into the blacksmith trade and was a founding member and the fourth chief of the Mount Prospect Fire Department. He was also elected Mount Prospect's second mayor.

William built a grocery store on the north side of the Meyn family triangle of land bordered today by Northwest Highway, Busse Avenue and Route 83.

John Jr. recognized that automobiles were replacing horses and wagons, and introduced the first gas pump to Mount Prospect. Later, his son (also named John) opened an automobile maintenance shop.

John Meyn died a month before his 85th birthday, on Dec. 2, 1947, after surviving two World Wars, which had pitted his adopted country against the country of his birth.