William Wille was carpenter, cheesemaker, public servant

William Wille was one of the most influential people in the early development of Mount Prospect. He owned a number of different businesses over the years, but was also always active in community matters.

In 1880, soon after moving his family to the small commerce center of Mount Prospect (it wasn't a village yet!), he started Wille's Cheese Factory at the intersection of Northwest Highway, Busse Avenue and Wille Street.

Wille bought milk from local farmers, turned it into cheese and butter, and then transported it into Chicago to sell to city dwellers. After about 20 years of doing this, while also working as a carpenter, he got tired of all the trips, particularly in bad weather, and closed the business in 1902.

In 1895, he and William Busse were the primary forces behind the establishment of what is now Mount Prospect Elementary School District 57. Wille and Busse both donated land to create a small campus for the first school at the intersection of Main Street and Central Road.

A skilled carpenter who had built a number of houses in town, Wille was hired to build the first school. This one-room schoolhouse, Central School, is still standing today at 103 S. Maple St. It is now open for school tours and experiences and for public tours.

The fact that this structure endures 120 years later proves how expert Wille's workmanship truly was.

In the early 1900s, Wille also built and operated Wille's Tavern, which he ran up until Prohibition. He then gave it to his son, who turned it into Wille's Buffet. Wille also built Wille Hall, which was essentially the first community building in Mount Prospect, other than Central School.

Like the school, it was used by clubs for meetings and also for local dances and gatherings.

In 1905, Wille and Busse teamed up once again and re-subdivided the original Eggleston triangle, making the plots more attractive in order to attract new residents to their growing community.

They knew that if they ever wanted to incorporate and be able to tax people to attain further public improvements, they needed to have more residents.