Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 9-24

24 CHICAGO WILMETTE-WINNETKA-GLENCOE By Joan Cary Special to the Tribune When North Shore commuters hopped the train to Chicago more than 100 years ago, they carried oil lanterns to the depot. They left the lanterns at the station all day, then picked them up for the trek home through the dark woods and dirt roads of Wilmette, Winnetka and Glencoe. The train to Chicago was essential to attract settlers in the 1800s and is still a drawing card. About 3,500 people board 45 to 55 trains in the three towns each weekday, said Dan Schnolis, Metra spokesman. Before the arrival, residents were accustomed to traveling the same route as those before them: the Green Bay Trail.

It was once the route of choice for explorers, according to a 1996 article written by Laurie Starrettfor the Winnetka Historical Society. It is likely that Native American tribes followed the path for hunting, and that explorers Louis Jol- lietand Pere Marquetteused the route, she wrote. In 1832 the Green Bay Trail was established as an official post road by an act of Congress. Stagecoach service began on the trail in 1836, and inns were built along it. Today the original trail is covered by parts of Green Bay and Sheridan Roads, and the name Green Bay Trail refers to a hiking and biking path along the nearby railroad right-of-way, Starrett wrote.

As the villages grew, other dirt paths and roads were established. They were lighted by oil lamps that residents hung on posts. Most people traveled by foot or horse and buggy. When the railroad arrived, it made the trip to Chicago far more appealing. The first settlers in the area that became Glencoe were Anson Taylor and his family, who built their cabin in an area that became known as Taylorsport, according to Glencoe Historical Society records.

Taylor want to give the railroad land because the train would compete with the stagecoaches that stopped at his inn. But Walter Gurnee, then president of the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway (which was absorbed into the Chicago North Western Railroad), built his home north of Taylorsport and established a railroad stop there, in an area that became known as Glen, or Glencoe. Taylorsport languished, and Glencoe grew up around the station. By 1854 the original subdivision of Winnetka was formed and the railroad came, stopping at what is now Hubbard Woods, according to the Winnetka Historical Society. There were two trains a day.

Station cost $700 In 1871the first railroad station opened in Wilmette. Constructed of wood, it cost $700. By 1875 there were 700 people in the village, the ride to the Chicago depot took 30 minutes and the cost of a one-way fare was 11cents, according to the book mette: A by George D. Bushnell. In 1880 wooden sidewalks were laid in parts of Winnetka, and by 1894, the first streets were paved with stone, according to the historical society.

In 1891Glencoe residents signed a petition asking for a new depot to replace the shed where the trains stopped. They thought the structure gave a poor first impression to prospective house buyers. The Chicago North Western responded, hiring architect Charles S. Frost to build a station that continues today to be Railroads retain their importance Tribune file photo The old Wilmette train depot, built in the 19th Century, has been moved to 1139 Wilmette Ave. and restored.

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