History of DuPage County Illinois

by Rufus Blanchard

1882

 

Have you ever thought about where (and when) you would go if you had a time machine?  I have.  

 

I would go to my hometown at different times in its history.  I can hear a description of Downers Grove in the 1930’s from my parents who both grew up here but to actually be present during that time would be fascinating.

This book on the history of DuPage County takes me back in time even further.  Much of the book is a listing of past and current (in 1882) land and business owners.  The following section of text, however, goes back almost 180 years to the very beginnings of the town.  

“When the grove after which this village was named looked, from a distance, like an island, and the prairie around it like the ocean surrounding it, on one summer’s day in 1838, six yoke of oxen, hitched to the trunk of a large tree, patiently toiled along what is now Maple Avenue in Downers Grove.  Backward and forward, for two miles or more, they dragged their ponderous burden, till the prairie turf was ground into a well-beaten path, and on this path grew the village to its present dimensions… Soon after doing it, they planted on each side of this marked trail those sugar maple trees that have now attained such large proportions, and outrival in arborial grace any wayside trees, far or near, in Northern Illinois.  They will perpetuate the memory of those who planted them for centuries to come…”

Next time I go for a walk down Maple Avenue, I’ll picture blowing prairie grass all around.  I’ll see the oxen, pulling the trunk of a large tree, flattening the grass into a path.  I’ll look at the trees and remember those who planted them.  I’ll wonder what they were thinking and how they would react if they could have seen 180 years into the future.  I’ll wish they had written down their thoughts so I wouldn’t have to wonder – so I could know for sure. 

 

We don’t often realize, when our lives are in full swing, that we will one day be part of history.   I’ve come to realize that recording our thoughts and our dreams leaves a gift for future generations.