Vernon Hills

History

The land that was to become Vernon Hills, founded by Richard Theodore Freese, Ron Freese, Nathan Kowitt, and Jim Carswell, began with the establishment of a farm in 1857. Use of the land remained relatively static until the 1960s, when part of it was purchased for a residential community and golf course; the development was the first use of the name "Vernon Hills." On June 16, 1958, the village officially incorporated with 123 residents and 125 houses in a single subdivision built by Quinn Hogan and Barney Loeb. During these times, the village and police department were run from a local motel until 1971 when village trustees bought two portable buildings. It saw steady but slow growth until the annexing of a plot of land near the corner of IL-60 and IL-21 in 1971, which led to the building of Hawthorn Center. By 1980, the village's population had grown to almost 10,000 residents, and by 2000, it had surpassed 20,000. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the village grew geographically through the annexation of surrounding areas. This included land that would become the Corporate Woods business park and Centennial Crossing residential development (1986), a section of Hawthorne-Mellody Farms (1988), and part of the village of Half Day (1994).

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Vernon Hills has a total area of , of which (or 97.43%) is land and (or 2.57%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Adlai E Stevenson High School
  High · Lincolnshire · 4,489 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Warren Township High School
  High · Gurnee · 3,758 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Mundelein Cons High School
  High · Mundelein · 2,212 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Libertyville High School
  High · Libertyville · 1,811 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Lake Zurich High School
  High · Lake Zurich · 1,804 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Highland Park High School
  High · Highland Park · 1,739 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Woodland Middle School
  Middle · Gurnee · 1,668 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• Vernon Hills High School
  High · Vernon Hills · 1,505 students · 12.9:1 ratio