Businesses of Mount Prospect

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 302 E. Northwest Highway

Is building standing: No, demolished in 1986

What is at site: ?

When was business founded: 1910

Is business still operating: No.

Who owned business: Edward Busse

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Founded in 1910 by Edward Busse, the Mount Prospect Creamery quickly became a major distributor of milk, cheese and butter. This was not the first creamery in Mount Prospect. William Wille had run a much smaller creamery at the end of the nineteenth century, but he closed it in 1902. In the years after Wille closed his creamery, Mount Prospect became one of the largest producers of dairy products in northern Illinois. The farmers with dairy cows had to ship their milk into the city on the Chicago Northwestern trains each day and pay a charge on each can they shipped in. When a creamery opened in Mount Prospect it was cheaper to sell it locally. The Mount Prospect Creamery grew quickly and was soon shipping bottled milk, butter and cheese all around the Chicago area. They employed thirteen drivers who delivered the bottled milk around the northwestern communities and into Chicago, advertised as “Milk Bottled in the Country.”

 

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 600 S. See Gwum

Is building standing: Yes

What is at site: Mount Prospect Park District

When was business founded: 1926

Is business still operating: Not in its original form

If no, when did it close: 1930

Who owned business: Axel Lonnquist

Interesting stories, facts, history:

The Mount Prospect Country Club was started by a developer named Axel Lonnquist. He purchased the farms of Fred Schaefer and Henry Menshing in 1925. His plan for the area was different from earlier sub-developments in Mount Prospect. What he planned was “a luxury community.” He wanted to utilize both the natural beauty of the area and the modern ideas of suburbs for this sub-development. In his advertisements, he heralded the semi-rural landscape with the proximity to the scenic Weller Creek, safe from the hectic pace of the city. He also advertised the numerous trains in and out of the city for the working professionals. This was meant to be a push and a pull with the ideas of getting away from the pace, and corruption of the city, and getting to the bliss of the quiet country home. This sub-development drew together all of the 1920s ideas of suburbanization and put it in the reach of the middle classes in Chicago. He specified the lots in the sub-development were to be larger and be able to support both a comfortable home and good-sized yard. The crowning glory of this development however, was to be the Northwest Hills Country Club. His idea was that membership in this would be associated with owing a lot in his development. He opened the Country Club in 1926, although it was then only a nine-hole course. He later expanded it to an 18 hole course and in 1929 opened the Club House.

As a progressive developer he thought beyond his own sub-division. He spoke publicly, at both national and local events about the responsibility of developers to think in terms of the larger community. He wanted to work with the other developers in the community to coordinate efforts at improving the village and the services offered to residents. This sub-development and the ideas of the luxury suburbs with country clubs and coordinated services redefined the way Mount Prospect saw its self and the way it was seen by outsiders. This was probably the way in which Lonnquist was most influential in the community. He made people think of the suburbs as better than living in the city. Transportation resources and new municipal services would offer all the resources and comforts of the city while also allowing a relaxed area with access to nature and luxury leisure pastimes.

Although Axel Lonnquist was able to redefine Mount Prospect, he was not able to make a lot of money on the endeavor. Due to the timing of his investment, he did not sell most of his land before the crash of 1929 and the depression that followed. The great depression was not the best time to be selling luxury suburban lots. He sold his property in Mount Prospect at huge discounts in 1931 to cover debt. In the time that he owned the land, he had been able to plate the streets, build the country club and a few demonstration homes, but he built very few homes that are standing today. He continued to hold onto some land in the community until 1946, when he left the land in trust to his children.

The history of his developments following his departure is also quite fascinating. After Lonnquist sold the land, it was purchased by a man named Harold Wilson who changed the name of the club to the more familiar Mount Prospect Country Club. He made it a semi-private club with annual dues and held onto it until 1950, when he sold it to Henry Sophie. Sophie ran the club for a few years and then in 1958 he sold the course to reputed gang member Richard Hauff. Hauff was unusual character in the history of Mount Prospect. He had been born in Iran and was orphaned at a young age. He was found wandering in the desert by a couple of U.S. Army Engineers who were there during WWII. He was later adopted by one and brought back to Arlington Heights. He showed great potential as a golfer in high school but at some point ended up associated with members of organized crime. To this day, no one really knows where he got the money to purchase the course in 1958 but it is suspected to have Mafia ties. He had the course redesigned and hosted the women’s Master’s PGA tournament in 1959. This certainly put Mount Prospect on the map, however it was not very profitable for Hauff. He declared bankruptcy in 1960 and put the course up for sale. After an involved fight to pass a referendum, the Mount Prospect Park District finally purchased it in 1961, making it a public course and what we all know today. Much as Axel Lonnquist had intended, his sub-division and golf course, helped redefine the community and became a great asset to the community as a whole.

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 3 E. Northwest Highway

Is building standing: Yes, but now on Pine Street

What is at site: Condos

When was business founded: 1882

Is business still operating: No

Who owned business: John Conrad Moehling

Interesting stories, facts, history:

John C. Moehling owned the first general store in Mount Prospect. It was a small store located at the corner of Main Street and Northwest Highway. The store was originally started by Cook County Commissioner Christian Geils, who did not enjoy the store. In 1882 Moehling bought it from him. He found that he enjoyed being a store keeper and he soon became an major part of the community. He began selling farm tools, coal, seed, feed, groceries, shoes, etc. and built a warehouse along a side track to help bring in and ship out materials.

John C. Moehling was one of Mount Prospect’s biggest promoters. Throughout his career he worked hard to improve Mount Prospect and bring in new services and businesses. He persuaded John Meyn to move to Mount Prospect and start a blacksmith shop. Moehling also convinced the Chicago Northwestern Railroad to build a new Depot in Mount Prospect and was appointed the first depot agent, a position he held from 1887 until 1902. Moehling was also appointed the first Postmaster of Mount Prospect on December 31, 1885 and based the local post office in his store. He served as Postmaster for twelve years or until 1897. According to legend, Moehling was also the person who brought dairy cows to Mount Prospect. Seeing that the area was appropriate for milk cows, he went off in search of the best breed and eventually brought them back, kicking off Mount Prospect’s role as a major dairy center.

 

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: Central Road

When was business founded: Founded 1911, incorporated 1929

Who owned business: Otto and Oscar Milburn

Interesting stories, facts, history:

The main point of interest in the Milburn Brother’s Paving Company is that they paved the first stretch of road in Mount Prospect and what this symbolizes. In the 1920s, as the idea of a luxury suburb was beginning to develop in the minds of America, prominent developers in the Mount Prospect area, such as Axel Lonnquist, began paving roads. This signified a very different relationship with nature, landscape and transportation. It also signified a much more common ownership of cars. This radically changed Mount Prospect, Chicago and America. Keeping pace with the changes that were going on around, William Busse brought in the Milburn Brothers to start paving parts of Mount Prospect. This shows Mount Prospect’s adoption of Lonnquist’s concept and a different type of municipal government. William Busse, twenty years earlier, had convinced John Biermann to move to Mount Prospect and act as a the towns teamster, keeping the roads level and graded. John Biermann became a part of the community and eventually his son married William Busse’s daughter in William Busse’s parlor. The Milburn Brothers, on the other hand were treated as professional associates and were never considered anything else or expected to be anything else. They are symbolic of the shift from a small town to a suburban community. They later went on to pave part of O’Hare International.

 

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 101 S. Main

Is building standing: Yes

What is at site: Central Continental Bakery

When was business founded: 1925

Is business still operating: No. Closed 1984.

Who owned business: Fred Meeske and family, sold in 1973.

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Meeske’s Market was a fixture in downtown Mount Prospect for 59 years. The store was begun in 1925, when William Busse Jr. sold the grocery part of his business to Fred Meeske. At that time, the market was located in the Busse Building on Main Street. In 1950 the building on the corner of Busse and Main was built to house what was then the main grocery store in Mount Prospect. The store was famous for its exceptional butcher shop and the family’s celebration of the community’s German roots. In 1973 the Meeske family sold the business, although the store maintained the name. The shop was closed in 1984 after going through a series of owners. The small locally-owned grocery store in downtown was not able to compete against massive chain stores in shopping plazas at the outskirts of town. After a renovation Central Continental Bakery moved into the space and has been there ever since.