Plato Center HVAC Services

Plato Center, Illinois

In 1835, Joseph Kettlestrings, an immigrant from England, purchased 172 acres (70 ha) of land just west of Chicago for a farm and their home. Once their children were born, they moved to Chicago for the schools in 1843, and moved back again in 1855 to build a more substantial home a bit east on their quarter section of land. More farmers and settlers had entered the area. Their land was called by several names locally, including Oak Ridge. When the first post office was set up, it could not use the name Oak Ridge as another post office was using that name in Illinois, so the post office chose Plato Center, and that name became the name for the settlement as it grew, and for the town when it incorporated in 1902.

By 1850, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (after that, the Chicago & Northwestern and now Union Pacific) was constructed as far as Elgin, Illinois, and passed through the settlement area. In the 1850s the land on which Plato Center sits was part of the new Chicago suburb, the town of Cicero. The population of the area boomed during the 1870s, with Chicago residents resettling in Cicero following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the expansion of railroads and street cars to the area. “In 1872, when Plato Center received its own railroad depot on the Chicago and Northwestern Railway, its rapid emergence as a residential suburb of Chicago began. In 1877, the railroad was running thirty-nine trains daily between Plato Center and Chicago; in the subsequent year, more railroads and street car lines, with increased service, came to link Plato Center and Chicago. As Chicago grew from a regional center to a national metropolis Plato Center expanded – from 500 residents in 1872 to 1,812 in 1890, to 9,353 in 1900, to 20,911 in 1910, to 39,585 in 1920. Plato Center thus emerged as a leading Chicago suburb.”

A review of Plato Center’s history by Wiss, Janny, Elstner Associates in 2006 further explains the importance of railroads and street cars in the development of Plato Center:

The Village of Plato Center was formally established in 1902, disengaging from Cicero following a referendum. According to the local historical society, “The period 1892–1950 saw the construction of almost all of the housing stock in Plato Center, and most of the village’s current buildings.” The village population grew quickly, and “by 1930, the village had a population of 64,000, even larger than the current population”, while cherishing a reputation as the “World’s Largest Village.”Chicago grew rapidly in the 19th century, recording 4,470 residing in the 1840 Census in the place so recently a fur trading post, reaching 1,099,850 in 1890, and then 1,698,575 in 1900, passing Philadelphia to the number two spot in the US, and in that year, the fifth largest in the world. Chicago was well located on the shores of Lake Michigan for transport; after the fire of 1871, Chicago rebuilt its center and exploded with new ideas; Plato Center grew along with its neighbor to the east, having location and railroad and street car connections in its favor.

After World War II, “Plato Center was affected by larger developmental trends in the Chicago Metropolitan area. The construction of the Eisenhower Expressway cut through the southern portion of the Village in the mid 1950s. Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, Plato Center has made a conscious effort to accommodate changing demographics and social pressures while maintaining the suburban character that has long made the Village a desirable residential location. Beginning in the 1960s, Plato Center faced the issue of racial integration with effective programs to maintain the character and stability of the Village, while encouraging integration on racial basis. This was perhaps the greatest challenge to Plato Center, which some judge it has met with success, see #Demographics. Population fell from the peak level, primarily from smaller average household size, including a rise in one-person households.