The First World War had a profound effect on British society, upsetting strict class distinctions and turning Victorian England on its ear. Curiously, the Civil War (1861–1865) had a similar effect on the little village of Glen Ellyn, which then was known as Danby.
Danby sent 70 of its young men (more than 20 percent of its total population) off to fight in the Civil War. Most of them joined the 8th Illinois Cavalry, a regiment that saw action in several major Civil War battles. For many of them, it would have been the first time they had traveled more than 25 miles from home. They went off to war as boys; those who survived returned to Danby as men, wiser about the ways of the world. They had learned not only how to fight, but also how to drink, dance, and chase women. While not exactly admirable skills, they certainly were portable, and the young men traveled back home to Danby ready to show off their new abilities.
Before the war, Danby had been a sleepy farm town, a little shabby even. After the war, the reputation went from sleepy to rowdy. Barn dances in surrounding communities would be visited by the boys from Danby, who were known for drinking and flirting with girls. Soon they would be clearing the dance floor with their fists when boyfriends objected. During this period, deservedly or not, Danby became known for its saloons and houses of ill repute.
In his Reminiscences, Mr. Lawrence C. Cooper, a lawyer and town historian who commuted into Chicago on the train, tells the story of riding home one evening when he saw the conductor confront a very inebriated passenger. In an effort to collect the right fare, the conductor repeatedly asked the passenger where he was headed. The drunk finally replied, “I’m going to hell.” To which the conductor replied, “Then I’ll put you off at Danby. That’s about as close as we come.”
In an apparent effort to improve the image of the town, the village changed its post office designation to Prospect Park in 1874, and formally incorporated under that name in 1882. The town’s reputation began to improve after that, but it may not have had as much to do with the name change as with the aging of those rowdy boys from Danby.
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by Dan Anderson