What's in a Name? Appellations for West Lake Forest

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What's in a Name? Appellations for West Lake Forest
Michael Meehan’s cabin was located near the present-day intersection of Telegraph and Half Day roads.

Michael Meehan’s cabin was located near the present-day intersection of Telegraph and Half Day roads.

Courtesy Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

Courtesy Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

The 1885 Deerfield Township map shows Lancaster station.

The 1885 Deerfield Township map shows Lancaster station.

Chicago Tribune, April 26, 1890.

Chicago Tribune, April 26, 1890.

In 1894, the Lake County mapmakers labelled the train stop “Everett.”

In 1894, the Lake County mapmakers labelled the train stop “Everett.”

Dating back to the earliest settlers, the growing community in west Lake Forest collected several monikers – official and unofficial.Meehan's SettlementIrish immigrants Michael Meehan and his wife Bridget were the first European settlers in Deerfield Township in 1835, prior even to the exodus of the local Pottawatomi. The Meehan home became a way station for pioneers and a setting for town meetings.
CorduroyPioneers knew Waukegan/Telegraph Road as “the Corduroy road” because tree trunks resembling ridges of corduroy were used to elevate the road surface crossing the sloughs of the north branch of the Chicago River.The “Corduroy bridge,” pictured below in 1918, crossed the river near Patrick Melody's homestead, located just south of present-day Rte. 60 near Lake Forest High School West Campus. It was right down the road from “the Corduroy church,” as St. Patrick was known.
Lancaster/LancastervilleWhen the Chicago, St. Paul & Milwaukee Railroad was built through Lake County in 1872, a train stop was put in where the tracks crossed Telegraph Road. James Lancaster owned this property, and his house doubled as the first depot, so it soon became known as Lancaster station. By 1887, the Lancaster post office was established here as well.
This 1890 classified ad from the Chicago Daily Tribune refers to the area as “Lancasterville.”
EverettShortly after the Lancaster post office opened, some thought it advisable to change the name: there was another Lancaster in Illinois, one in Wisconsin, and one in Indiana, leading to confusion. As the story goes, local resident Tom Doyle renamed the post office (and the station) “Everett” after the son of Marsh, the general ticket agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. The name was officially changed in July, 1892.