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You are here: Home / People of Mount Prospect / William Wille

June 13, 2012 By HS Board

William Wille

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address in Mount Prospect:

Birth Date: November 26, 1846, Germany

Death Date: September 21, 1927, Elk Grove, Cook, IL

Marriage
Date: October 28, 1881, Elk Grove, Cook, IL

Spouse: Engel “Ella” Wille (nee Seegers)

Children: Albert, Clara, Sophie, Christ, Adolph, Edwin, Elmer, Luella and Fred (birth order)

Interesting information on life, career, accomplishments

William Wille was one of the most influential people in the development of Mount Prospect. He had a number of different jobs over the years, but he was always involved in community matters. In 1880 he started Wille’s Cheese Factory at the intersection of Northwest Highway, Busse Ave and Wille Street. He would buy milk from local farmers, turn it into cheese and butter and then take it into Chicago for sale. After about twenty years of doing this he got tired of all the trips in and out of the city, particularly in bad weather, and closed the business in 1902. In 1895 he and William Busse were the primary forces behind getting School District 57 founded. After it was founded, W. Wille and W. Busse both donated land to create a small campus for the first school. William Wille was hired to build the first school, the Central School. This one room school house is still standing today, demonstrating his workmanship. In 1905 Wille and Busse teamed up again and re-subdivided the original Eggleston triangle, making the plots more attractive and bringing in new residents. In the early 1900 William Wille also built and started Wille’s Tavern, which he ran up until prohibition, when he gave it to his son who made it into Wille’s Buffet. William Wille also built Wille hall, which was basically the first community building in Mount Prospect. It was used by clubs for meetings and also for local dances and gatherings.

 

Filed Under: People of Mount Prospect

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Mount Prospect Historical Society
101 South Maple Street
Mount Prospect, IL 60056
847.392.9006
info@mtphistory.org

The Mount Prospect Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to preserving the history of Mount Prospect, IL, through artifacts, photographs and both oral and written memories of current and former residents and businesspeople.  On its campus in the heart of the Village, the Society maintains the 1906 Dietrich Friedrichs house museum, the ADA-accessible Dolores Haugh Education Center and the 1896 one-room Central School, which was moved to the museum campus in 2008, renovated and opened to the public in 2017, the 100-year anniversary of the Village.

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