Cooper, Lawrence C.

Mention the “S curve” to anyone who has lived in Glen Ellyn and they know immediately that you’re referring to that section of Park Boulevard just north of the railroad tracks. Few know, however, that this peculiar twist in the road was very deliberate and it was one of many contributions to the Village made by Lawrence C. Cooper. The Cooper family moved to this area from Clinton County, New York, in 1852 when Lawrence was five years old. They traveled the Great Lakes by steamer to Chicago, and from there by train to the town then called Danby. Cooper attended school in Danby before getting a law degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Before moving back to Danby, he practiced law in Chicago and lived briefly in a room on Chicago’s north side. Shortly before his marriage to Emma Yalding (daughter of Jonathon Yalding, deacon of the First Congregational Church) all of his possessions, including his wedding clothes, were destroyed in the great Chicago fire of 1871. The wedding took place anyway. Soon after his marriage, Cooper moved back to Danby, joined the legal staff of the Chicago and North Western Railroad, and became one of the early commuters to Chicago using the train. Although he held this post in Chicago for some 50 years, his real contributions were to the community where he lived. These included working with Thomas E. Hill in 1889 to form the company that created Lake Ellyn. Starting in 1902 he served as village attorney for several years, and at various times served on both the village and county boards. But before any of those involvements Mr. L.C. Cooper introduced the game of baseball to Glen Ellyn, having learned the game while at the University of Michigan. He and a friend organized a team called the Rustics. Shortly after that, Cooper succeeded in luring the Excelsiors of Chicago (the club which later became the Chicago Cubs) to come here and play a game. Not surprisingly, given that only two members of the Rustics had played baseball previously, it did not go well for the Rustics. They lost by a score of 102 to 2. In 1893, Cooper and his wife built an expansive home on the east side of Park Boulevard just north of Anthony Street. In those days, the south end of Park Boulevard stopped at Anthony because of a creek that ran through town just south of that point. In 1914 the village trustees passed an ordinance to channel the creek into a storm sewer and to extend Park Boulevard another block south to Pennsylvania Avenue. At his own expense, Cooper paid to incorporate the “S curve” into that road project because he thought that a curve was more interesting and graceful than the straight lines of most streets. Shortly before he died in 1923, at the age of 76, Cooper published his memoirs, Reminiscences of Old Glen Ellyn, a valuable addition to the history of Glen Ellyn. – Moved to Glen Ellyn (then Danby) from New York in 1852, when he was five years old. As a young teenager, Lawrence Cooper read the dispatches on the Civil War to folks gathered in front of the Mansion House in downtown Danby. Later he attended the University of Michigan where he received a law degree … and learned the new game of baseball, which he brought back to Danby. Cooper started practicing law in Chicago, living in a room on Chicago’s north side. Just before his marriage to Danby native Emma Yalding, the great Chicago fire of 1871 burned his apartment building and his wedding clothes. Shortly after the wedding, he and Emma took up residence in Danby and he was hired as an attorney for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, a position he held for some 50 years. He became one of the earliest commuters from Danby into Chicago. Although he held this post in Chicago for some 50 years, his real contributions were to the community where he lived. These included working with Thomas E. Hill in 1889 to form the company that created Lake Ellyn and developed the property around it. Starting in 1902 he served as village attorney for several years, and at various times served on both the village and county boards. He also published his memoirs shortly before he died, providing great insight into what Glen Ellyn was like up to the 1920s. In 1893 he and his wife built a home on the east side of Park Boulevard just north of Anthony where he lived until his death. Today, this home has been beautifully restored and has been plaqued by the Historical Society. At the time the home was built, Park Boulevard stopped at Anthony. When the Village decided in 1914 to extend Park down the hill south to Pennsylvania, Cooper thought that an “S” curve would be esthetically preferable, so he paid the Village for the extra cost of doing that.