Glencoe

History

Opinions differ about the origins of the village's name. Some attribute it to an early resident, Matthew Coe. Others say it is named for the area of Scotland of the same name. It developed in the late 19th century around a railroad stop. Former Chicago mayor Walter S. Gurnee had become president of the line connecting Chicago and Milwaukee, and often bought up and developed land around railroad stops. Thus, one historian believes the name derives from the maiden name of Gurnee's wife, since Gurnee bought the land in 1867 and began subdivision, although financial problems prevented him from building a home there and he returned to New York for his final years. The village's first seal was based on the seal of Glencoe, Scotland. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many elegant homes were built in Glencoe. Most notably, the village is home to the world's third largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright structures: the Ravine Bluff subdivision contains seven houses, a concrete bridge and three sculptural markers. There are also two larger, individually built homes, located nearby Ravine Bluffs. In addition to Wright, there are houses designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw, David Adler, Robert E. Seyfarth and George Washington Maher, Benjamin Marshall, among others. Writers Theater was designed by Jeanne Gang. Glencoe has had an African American population since almost immediately after the Village's 1869 incorporation.[Images of America, Glencoe Illinois, Ellen Kettler Paseltiner and Ellen Schubert for the Glencoe Historical Society p. 8]. Many in the Black and Italian community lived within a five-square block area near what is now Vernon Avenue from Washington to Jackson streets. Homes in this area were close together in accordance with the city planner's…

Geography

Glencoe has a total area of , of which (or 98.39%) is land and (or 1.61%) is water. Glencoe is located on the west side of Lake Michigan. It is separated from suburbs to the north and west by more than of the Cook County Forest Preserve natural forest area. Three golf clubs also buffer it, with the private Lake Shore Country Club on the north, the public Glencoe Golf Club (operated by the village of Glencoe) on the northwest, and the private Skokie Country Club on the west. Although nominally within Glencoe geographically, the Chicago Botanic Garden sits at the upper northwest corner of the village but is technically outside the village limits. The village is surrounded on three sides by upper-income communities, with Highland Park on the north, Northbrook on the west, and Winnetka to the south. The Skokie Lagoons are located in the forest preserve to the immediate west of the village. The same forest preserve has a bicycle trail that connects to other forest preserves to the south. In the village, the Green Bay Trail allows bicyclists to travel as far south as Wilmette and north past Lake Forest. The highest point of elevation in Glencoe is above sea level along Green Bay Road in the northern part of the village. Glencoe's southern border with Winnetka cuts through 58 homes, forcing homeowners to pay taxes to and seek permits from both villages. The two villages began discussing a solution in 1920s, reaching a tentative agreement in 2007 in which each homeowner could choose a village from which to receive services while the boundary officially remained unchanged. Initially, 46 homeowners chose Winnetka, but the others had the option to choose a village later. The boundary was later updated to reflect these choices.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  60,408
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  51,300
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  50,834
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  40,032
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  35,799
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  35,526
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,863
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,776

Largest nearby schools

• Evanston Twp High School
  High · Evanston · 3,691 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Glenbrook South High School
  High · Glenview · 3,030 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• New Trier Township H S Winnetka
  High · Winnetka · 2,856 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• Niles West High School
  High · Skokie · 2,609 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Glenbrook North High School
  High · Northbrook · 2,062 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Niles North High School
  High · Skokie · 2,033 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Maine East High School
  High · Park Ridge · 1,808 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Wheeling High School
  High · Wheeling · 1,760 students · 16:1 ratio