Clarendon Hills

History

The area that is now Clarendon Hills was a wide, rolling prairie bordering the east side of Westmont. Most of the older villages in Downers Grove Township were built on the same street grid as the Village of Downers Grove. Instead, Clarendon Hills was built to resemble nearby Riverside, a planned, park-like suburb designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted in the late 1800s. Its long winding streets go with the natural contour of the land, rather than extending straight through from the neighboring towns. In 1923, at the time of incorporation, Clarendon Hills had a population of under 900 people. The area was incorporated to avoid annexation by the nearby community of Hinsdale. The Clarendon Hills Historical Society is tasked with retaining the town's history and establishing a community center and a museum to display prominent artifacts about the history of the village. In 1961, TWA Flight 529 crashed south of Clarendon Hills, killing all 73 passengers on board. On May 11, 2022, a Metra train collided with a stalled box truck on the Prospect Avenue grade crossing west of Clarendon Hills station; one person lost her life.

Geography

Clarendon Hills is approximately 18 miles southwest of Chicago. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Clarendon Hills has a total area of , of which (or 99.45%) is land and (or 0.55%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  86,330
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  78,871
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  59,964
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  58,927
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  58,543
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  57,410
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  56,684
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  56,643

Largest nearby schools

• York Comm High School
  High · Elmhurst · 2,707 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Comm H S Dist 99 - South High Sch
  High · Downers Grove · 2,637 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Hinsdale Central High School
  High · Hinsdale · 2,472 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Glenbard West High School
  High · Glen Ellyn · 2,324 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• Glenbard East High School
  High · Lombard · 2,275 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Comm H S Dist 99 - North H S
  High · Downers Grove · 2,138 students · 14:1 ratio
• Willowbrook High School
  High · Villa Park · 1,992 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Addison Trail High School
  High · Addison · 1,927 students · 16.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2025-03-15
  6 km W of Dwight, Illinois
• M 3.1 — 2024-07-15
  2 km WNW of Somonauk, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois