Where's Udina?

Motorists traveling Route 20 on Elgin's west side probably have reason to wonder when they pass the green highway sign labeled "Udina."

These silent sentinels that welcome us to many a community across the state can't be wrong -- can they? If not, then what's a sign for Udina doing within Elgin's city limits?

"The 'Udina' highway sign was put up a number of years ago," explains John Russell Ghrist, who published "Jct. 20: The Story of Udina"in 1995.

In recent years, the city of Elgin has grown westward, annexing hundreds of acres of what once was considered Udina, although no real boundaries ever were established and the area was never incorporated.

Udina -- pronounced "you-dine-ah" -- got its start in the mid-1840s as travelers came west onoldState Road 5, now known as Route 20, Ghrist notes.The area's name comes from a poem written by Robert Burns.

While Elgin, its booming neighbor to the east, was busy platting streets and laying out a town, Udina's slower pace never got to that point -- or at least there is no evidence that shows it did, Ghrist adds.

A church founded by members of Elgin's First Congregational Church was added to Udina in the 1850s. Another fixture in the community from its earliest years was a small cemetery, a landmark still present along Route 20 near Plank Road.

The decades ahead saw the addition of a wagon repair shop, a blacksmith, two one-room schoolhouses, a dance halland a tavern. There was even a cheese factory or creamery that was part of a larger operation in Elgin.

A tourist camp consisting of small cabins prospered in the area long before motorists stopped at chain motels along the interstates. The camp also is still visible along Route 20.

A bit of national fame came to Udina in the early 1900s as cars from the Elgin National Road Races sped south on Coombs Road and turned east at "Graveyard Bend" to return to Elgin on Route 20. By the time of the last race in 1933, Udina Field at the northeast corner of Coombs and Route 20 was a popular site for baseball games.

Inlater years, the recently demolished Pedersen's Tavern -- a business preceded by the Triangle Barbecue and Service Station operated by Ed Wesemann -- was a familiar sight at Route 20, Coombs and Plank roads. It also was the home of a curious animal called the "rabbit-cat" that fascinatedpatrons.

Several structures in the area, including an auction business, also have been demolished along the north side of Route 20.

Thousands of acres of farmland in the Udina area now make up Elgin housing starts such as Sandy Creek Estates, West Point Gardens and Highland Woods.

Where corn and soybeans once grew not long ago, Elgin students now study at a new elementary and middle school on Nesler Road.

Udina was a very different community in the 1950s when Jack Moorhouse lived there with his grandmother, Caroline Moorhouse in a home on the south side of Route 20 near the "Udina" sign on the east end of town.

Jack Moorhouse says his grandmother was one of several residents well-known for selling canned goods at a fruit stand near the end of her driveway. Jack Moorhouse, who now lives in Florida with his wife Debbie, proudly boasts that Debbie also was a Udina resident.

"Udina is really changing," said Gwen Moeller, who has lived near the vicinity of Nesler Road and Route 20 since 1962.

Although she believes the westward sprawl of Elgin was inevitable, Moeller questions the pattern of growth that has left gaps in the incorporated areas.

"Udina is a marvelous little town." adds Joan Krueger who, with her husband, bought a house along Coombs Road in the mid-1960s. "When you lived in Udina, there wasn't anybody you didn't know. New neighbors were always welcomed with a covered dish. We also loved going to Pedersen's Tavern to meet people even though we didn't even drink."

"The area is growing, though," Krueger adds. "The roads are becoming very busy."

With more of the older houses becoming rentals and Elgin's boundaries extending a mile west of where Udina once existed, Krueger says the small-town feel is fading. Born and raised on a farm, Krueger -- who even lived in Elgin for awhile -- says she is considering moving westward as the growth catches up with her.

And that growth won't be stopping anytime soon.

"Udina is located along a major, developing intersection of Coombs, Plank and Route 20 about two miles west of Randall Road," notes Elgin's chief planner Tom Armstrong. "It is very conducive for development and will probably be absorbed by development in Elgin."

Ghrist wrote his book about Udina because he knew the area would change and he wanted to preserve its history.

"I feel badly for the residents of the area," said Ghrist, adding that most would probably prefer the area maintain its rural character. "Udina's only real identity is the green highway signs that remain on Route 20."

Both Krueger and Moeller acknowledge that a historical marker of some kind might be nice to identify the community and an ideal location for it would be in the triangular area near Coombs Road, Route 20 and Plank Road.

That is the heart of old Udina, they explain.