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Mount Prospect Centennial Commission marks historic buildings

Thirty-eight historic homes, churches, schools and businesses in Mount Prospect have been honored by the community's Centennial Commission. All were built in 1917 or earlier and would have "witnessed" Mount Prospect's incorporation vote on Feb. 3, 1917, and the various elections and organizational meetings which immediately followed the decision by residents to incorporate.

Each of the homes has recently been designated by a commemorative yard sign that reads "Here from the start … Proud Centennial Structure" and their locations have been marked on a map on the Centennial website (www.mountprospect100.com) so that those who might be interested may take a driving tour and understand how sparsely populated the area was 100 years ago.

Only 300 people lived in Mount Prospect in 1917 and many of the early homes in the center of the community have been razed over the years to make way for the central business district. It is also important to note that those living in the outlying farmhouses would not have been included in that population count because they would not be annexed into Mount Prospect for many years to come. But the commission is still recognizing them because they are part of Mount Prospect today.

The honored structures were jointly identified by the Mount Prospect Centennial Commission, the Mount Prospect Public Library and the Mount Prospect Historical Society. Some have long been well-known among historians while others were recently identified through searches of Cook County records.

Dedicated volunteers of the Centennial Commission and the library made several trips to the county building this past summer to dig through official, handwritten records on more than 100 structures they suspected might qualify for this honor. In the end, 33 homes and five public/religious/commercial structures still stand at least 100 years after they were built.

The public buildings are Capannari's Ice Cream (1880), St. John Lutheran Church (1892), Central Schoolhouse (1896), St. John Lutheran Schoolhouse (1901) and Mrs. P & Me restaurant (1902).

The historic homes (which include the Mount Prospect Historical Society museum, which is now a public building but which the commission is considering a house for the purposes of this recognition) were built between the 1850s and 1917.

"We want to recognize these historic structures and applaud the efforts of their owners to preserve Mount Prospect history by carefully maintaining these gems," said Mayor Arlene Juracek.

What follows is just a sampling of six of the historic homes in Mount Prospect that have been honored as part of that community's 100th birthday celebration.

Owen Rooney farmhouse

15 S. George St.

Circa 1850

By the time of the Civil War, Owen Rooney was one of the few non-Germans remaining in the area that would one day become Mount Prospect. Many of the other earliest settlers had already followed the frontier further west.

Rooney's home, much expanded over the years, still stands at 15 S. George St. No one is sure when the original home was built. Rooney, an Irish immigrant, purchased 160 acres from a land grant farmer when he arrived in the area in 1847. A house could have already been standing on the property or Rooney could have started the building process himself.

It is known, however, that in 1874, almost 30 years after he arrived here, Rooney and his neighbor, Walter Burke, sold approximately 140 acres of their land holdings to a speculator named Ezra Carpenter Eggleston so that Eggleston could develop a town, which he named "Mount Prospect," along the railroad tracks. Three years after that sale on Sept. 29, 1877 (and before he could see Eggleston go bankrupt in 1881), Rooney was accidentally killed by a train while walking along the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad tracks.

Original Moehling General Store warehouse

116 S. Owen St.

Built in 1880s, moved and converted to a house in 1928

This structure began life as a warehouse for the John Conrad Moehling General Store in the middle of Mount Prospect. Moehling built it in the late 1870s or early 1880s, soon after taking over the local general store. He built it right next to the rails so that supplies could be easily transferred there from the trains arriving from Chicago and elsewhere.

The warehouse was sold to George Busse, who moved to its current location in 1928 and converted it to a single family home. Northwest Highway was being widened and paved and the old warehouse was standing in the way of progress. It was not just demolished, however. In those days the moving of structures was widely accepted and popular so they "recycled" the building by converting it to a house.

John C. Moehling Colonial farmhouse

122 N. Emerson St.

Circa 1885

This lovely old Colonial farmhouse was built circa 1885 after the first farmhouse that John C. Moehling built on his 45-acre farm burned down. The property featured a barn, chicken coop, smokehouse, pump house, carriage barn and outhouse.

Moehling built a Victorian style home closer to the tracks when he took over the general store, so he leased this farmhouse and the farm to Emil and Anna Grimm, who raised their eight children here and grew carrots, onions, sweet corn, marjoram and hay on the surrounding property. So it is not believed that the Moehlings ever lived in this particular home. The Grimm brothers purchased it in 1919.

Even after leaving the farm, John C. Moehling hearkened back to his agrarian roots when he brought dairy cows to Mount Prospect. Knowing that the area was appropriate for milk cows and understanding that farmers could now send milk to Chicago since a stop had been established by the railroad, he went off in search of the best breed and eventually brought them back to sell to his neighbors. This kicked off Mount Prospect's role as a major dairy center.

In addition to running the general store, Moehling was one of Mount Prospect's biggest promoters. He persuaded John Meyn to move to Mount Prospect and start a blacksmith shop. He was also the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad's first depot agent in Mount Prospect and its first postmaster.

George Meier farmhouse

1702 W. Myrtle Drive

1890

The four sons and two daughters of George Meier and his wife, Sophie Busse, were raised in this lovely farmhouse, built in approximately 1890. At the time it was situated on a 60-acre dairy farm that was surrounded by cornfields and orchards. They also raised chickens and hogs.

The Meiers' son, Edwin, eventually took over the house and farm and brought his wife, Edna Oltendorf, here in 1926. The couple had one son. According to Edna's oral history, this home had no electricity or running water until after the Great Depression had ended. They lighted the house with kerosene and gasoline lights and hauled their drinking water from the milk house where they hand pumped it. The Meiers had a cistern with rain water for washing clothes and doing housework.

When their son went to Korea in 1952, the Meiers gave up dairy farming and began growing tomatoes for Campbell's Soups because they were too short-handed to continue with dairy farming.

In the late 1950s or very early 1960s the Meiers bowed to the transformation of Mount Prospect from a farming community to a suburb and sold their farm to developers, who built modern homes all around this venerable old farmhouse. They then used much of the money from the sale to buy 200 acres in Crystal Lake so their son could take up farming there.

William Busse Victorian

808 E. Central Road

Built in 1895, moved in 1960

William Busse (Sophie Busse's brother) built this Victorian-style house when he moved his family to Mount Prospect from their Elk Grove Township farm in 1895. Busse was deputy sheriff for Cook County at that time and he realized he needed to be close to the train if he wanted to advance in county government. His move proved to be wise because by 1900, he was a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

When the house was built near the tracks in today's central business district, the current front of the home was the side of the home. It had a much more Victorian look with gingerbread detailing on the front porch and elsewhere. There was even a widow's walk on the roof with an ornate ironwork railing and it was surrounded by gorgeous gardens.

The house was moved to its current location and turned 90 degrees in 1960 by an investor. It was transported on a flatbed truck to make way for commercial construction in the growing downtown area.

Herman Meyn Victorian

21 S. Maple St.

1912

This stately Victorian and its carriage house were built in 1912 by Herman Meyn, a blacksmith, for his new bride, Ida Deeke. He purchased the two lots upon which it sits for $750, according to family records. But his new in-laws, Sophia Linneman and Louis Deeke, paid to have the home built. That was their customary wedding gift to all four of their daughters.

Herman and Ida lived out their lives in this house, raising two daughters here. For eight of those years, this house was known as the mayor's residence because Herman was elected mayor (Mount Prospect's second) in 1929, serving two terms. He was also the fire chief for many years. Meyn made his living, however, first as a blacksmith (taking over for his father, John), then later selling gas-powered farm implements and lawn mowers. He then built a Sinclair service station during the 1930s on the site of his father's original blacksmith shop.

Herman and Ida Meyn lived out their lives in this Victorian house on Maple Street, raising two daughters here. Courtesy of Pam Dammen
  The four sons and two daughters of George Meier and his wife, Sophie Busse, were raised in this lovely farmhouse, built in approximately 1890 at 1702 W. Myrtle Dr. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  This is the William Busse Victorian at 808 E. Central Ave. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  This home at 15. S. George St. contains part of Owen Rooney's farmhouse that was built around 1850. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  This Victorian house at 21 S. Maple St. was built in 1912 by Herman Meyn, a blacksmith, for his new bride, Ida Deeke. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Once a warehouse located along the railroad tracks downtown, this house at 116 S. Owen St. was relocated and converted into a residence. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
William Busse, a Cook County Board commissioner, built this house in 1895. It was moved to its current site at 808 E. Central Ave., shown at left, in 1960. Courtesy of Mount Prospect Historical Society
A portion of Owen Rooney's farmhouse, above, still stands as part of a much expanded home on South George Street. Courtesy of Mount Prospect Historical Society
The Moehling warehouse was built in 1880s, then moved and converted to a house in 1928. Here it is shown in original location next to railroad tracks. Courtesy of Mount Prospect Historical Society
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