Barrington

The History of Barrington

Robert Campbell, a civil engineer working for the Fond du Lac line, purchased a farm two miles northwest of Deer Grove and platted a community there in 1854. At Campbell’s request, the railroad moved the station building to his new community, which he called Barrington after Barrington, Massachusetts, the original home of a number of area farmers.

The prosperity of the Civil War era increased Barrington’s population to 300 in 1863. Because leaders believed the growing community needed tax-supported improvements, an election to incorporate Barrington was held on February 16, 1865. Homer Willmarth became the first village president. The village prospered as many Chicago grain merchants whose homes were destroyed in the Fire of 1871 decided to construct opulent Queen Anne–style residences along Barrington’s tree-shaded streets.

In 1889, the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (the “EJ&E”) was built through Barrington, crossing what is now the Union Pacific/Northwest Line northwest of town. In the late 19th century, a series of fires damaged numerous downtown buildings. In 1890, fire swept along the north side of East Main Street east of what is now the Union Pacific/Northwest Line, destroying several buildings. In 1893, another fire destroyed most of the block that is now Park Avenue, and in 1898 a fire destroyed several buildings along the north side of Main Street from Hough Street to the Northwest Line railroad tracks. As a result of these fires, residents replaced the burned frame structures with more substantial brick and stone buildings, many of which remain in use today (albeit with substantially altered facades).  The last major fire in downtown Barrington occurred on December 19, 1989. The fire completely destroyed Lipofsky’s Department Store, then one of the oldest continually operating businesses in the village.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the village streets were unpaved, although the downtown area had wooden slat sidewalks, with some on elevated platforms.The downtown area also featured hitching posts for tethering horses as well as public outhouses.  Meanwhile, fenced residential backyards in the village often contained livestock and barnyard animals.

In 1907, the village began replacing its wooden sidewalks with cement pavement.In 1929, the Jewel Tea Company built a new office, warehouse, and coffee roasting facility northeast of the village center, creating hundreds of local jobs despite the Great Depression.

On November 27, 1934, a running gun battle between FBI agents and Public Enemy # 1 Baby Face Nelson took place in Barrington, resulting in the deaths of Special Agent Herman “Ed” Hollis and Inspector Samuel P. Cowley. Nelson, though shot nine times, escaped the gunfight in Hollis’s car with his wife, Helen Gillis. Nelson succumbed from his wounds at approximately 8 p.m. that evening and was unceremoniously dumped near a cemetery in Niles Center (now Skokie), Illinois. Infamous for allegedly killing more federal agents than any other individual, Nelson was later buried at Saint Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois. A plaque near the entrance to Langendorf Park, part of the Barrington Park District, commemorates the agents killed in the gunfight.

In the last decades of the 19th century, the City of Chicago grew from a promising prairie town to a great pivotal hub of commerce and industry. As Chicago became more prosperous, the desire for suburban living led to major population growth both in the countryside and in the Village of Barrington.

In the 1920s, advancements in transportation allowed wealthy families from Chicago to move into the Barrington area and build family estate homes. The location of the Village and its attractive environment appealed to those who had become wealthy during the booming 1920s. The Village’s population growth slowed during the difficult times of the 1930s and 1940s, but then resumed in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s as a result of the suburbanization in the Chicago area and the post–World War II baby boom.

In 2015, the Village celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary. A series of celebratory events were held to commemorate Barrington’s milestone birthday.

Various Early Images From Barrington’s Past 1800 – 1970s

Barrington Businesses 1965

Barrington Businesses 1966

Barrington Businesses 1964