Mount Prospect Historical Society

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North Shore National Historic Landmarks Bus Tour 2022

The Society has planned its next bus trip for Saturday, May 14, 2022. We will be exploring historic delights in the northern suburbs of Evanston and Wilmette.

In the morning, tour-goers will tour both the picturesque home of Frances Willard, a founder and president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and the mansion of Charles G. Dawes, who served as Calvin Coolidge’s vice president.

Frances Willard House

The Frances Willard house was built in 1865. The author and activist lived and worked in this house during the years of her presidency of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). For many of those years, the house also served as an informal national headquarters for the WCTU and a boarding house for its workers.

Vice President Charles G. Dawes House

The nearby lakefront Dawes mansion was, from 1909 until his death in 1951, the home of Charles Gates Dawes and his family. Dawes earned the 1925 Nobel Peace Prize for his plan to alleviate the crushing burden of war reparations that Germany was required to pay after World War I. He also served as President Calvin Coolidge’s vice president and as a general during World War I .

Baha’i House of Worship

After lunch on your own in Evanston, the tour will continue north to Wilmette’s renowned Baha’i House of Worship, an architectural masterpiece built over a 30-year span from 1921 to 1951, where we will be treated to a private tour. It was dedicated in 1953 and has received many architectural awards. In fact, in 1978 it was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places and in 2007 the Illinois Bureau of Tourism named it one of the “Seven Wonders of Illinois.”

Tickets for the May 14, 2022 trip are $67 per person which includes tour admissions and bus transportation. The tour bus will depart from the Historical Society, 101 S. Maple St., promptly at 9 a.m. and is expected to return back there by 5 p.m. Lunch will be on your own. Comfortable clothing and shoes are strongly urged.

Also, be aware that the Society will follow all CDC COVID-19 recommendations in effect at the time of the tour, so please be prepared to wear a mask on the bus and during the tours, if that is required at the time.

Space is limited and tickets are non-refundable.

Mount Prospect’s Slogan

In 1950, the Chamber of Commerce held a contest to choose a slogan that best described Mount Prospect. The winner, Elmer Bussert, won the contest with his slogan, “Where Town and Country Meet.” This slogan for Mount Prospect was used until 1965 when the Chamber felt it no longer applied due to the expansion of the town. A new contest was held and “Where Friendliness is a Way of Life,” submitted by Delores Wells, was chosen to represent Mount Prospect. It remains our town’s motto to this day.

Mount Prospect Train Derailment

In the early morning hours of October 21, 1959, Mount Prospect experienced a crisis like never before. 24 freight cars spanning from Main Street to School Street derailed off the Chicago and North Western tracks due to a hot bearing box. A local patrolman had been driving down Northwest Highway and saw the flames shooting from the wheels of one of the freight cars. He tried racing to the front of the train to warn the engineer but before he could reach the engine, the cars derailed.
 
Freight cars and pieces of track were strewn everywhere and even the train station sustained damage from train cars that had jumped onto the platform. Around 15,000 commuters were late for work and traffic was at a standstill in suburbs neighboring Mount Prospect. However, if this crash would have happened any later in the morning, there would have been hundreds of commuters on the train platform resulting in a major tragedy instead of an inconvenience. Wreckage on the tracks in downtown Mount Prospect was cleared by the evening and the undamaged train cars were sent on their way.