Berwyn history

The present day City of Berwyn, a western Chicago suburb, was at one time three separate communities: LaVergne, Upsala (also known as Swedetown) and Berwyn. LaVergne was an exclusive, upscale neighborhood of 10-acre lots with well-maintained roads and thousands of transplanted trees. Thomas Baldwin, LaVergne's founder and developer, wanted to attract more residents in his community, so he sold off a narrow passage of land to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad to promote the construction of a train line between LaVergne and the city. A station was later erected that drew more people to the area and by the late 1880s a school was also built in town.

A separate railroad, the Illinois Central, ran just north of LaVergne where a small settlement of Swedish immigrants emerged on the scene in Upsala. The community was revered for their great bakery shops and skilled craft workers-whose Swedish heritage led to the nickname 'Swedetown.' A third train station was built by two forward-thinking developers who called their stop Berwyn. A tiny downtown district sprouted up at Berwyn and before long several residential clusters justified the installment of streets and sidewalks.

Berwyn was incorporated as village in the early 1900s and then six years later became a city. By 1910, there were approximately 5,800 people living in Berwyn and the town continued to grow with a housing boom that lasted into the 1920s. In 1930, the population was over 47,000 and Berwyn was filled with gorgeous Chicago-style brick bungalows that are still sought-after pieces of property to this day. There are now around 52,000 inhabitants in Berwyn, which has managed to keep its old-fashioned architectural charm while transitioning smoothly into the 21st century. The suburb has a healthy business economy, good schools, a strong local government and active community associations that all strive to make a wonderful place to raise a family, start a career or settle down for retirement.