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Huntley is a village in McHenry and Kane Counties, Illinois. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the village's population to be 22,923. As of the 2000 Census, the village had 5,730 people, meaning the village's population had quadrupled in eight years. At the 2010 census, the village's population was 24,291.〔() American FacfFinder, U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 28 January 2014.〕 Government officials in Huntley, an outer suburb of Chicago, have adopted an aggressive development strategy regarding this population growth. Huntley is best known for its Premium Outlets mall〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=98 )〕 and Sun City retirement community, the largest in the Midwest. The old part of Huntley is also known for its public square which features a gazebo, as well as a full brick-paved street (Woodstock St.) and 1950s-style diner, The Huntley Dairy Mart. The village's slogan is "The Friendly Village with Country Charm." ==History== McHenry County was established in 1837, and in 1838 the first settlers, mostly from New England, came to Grafton Township. One of these families, Prescott and Lucy Geer Whittemore, of Grafton, New Hampshire, settled west of the future town. Thomas Stillwell and Eliza Fox Huntley and children, Charles, Harriet, and William arrived in 1846. The Huntleys acquired land north of the future village and later expanded their holdings to the south. The Chicago and Galena Railroad constructed a railroad in 1851, which reached as far northwest as Huntley Grove (another town in Illinois was named "Huntley's Grove" around the same time, but the name was changed to DeKalb). The railroad owners hosted an excursion trip on September 5, 1851, which marked the maiden voyage, to Huntley Station, and that was the beginning of Huntley (the “Grove” and “Station” words were later dropped). The Chicago Tribune article that described the 1851 excursion trip stated that there were a few frame houses near the railroad and Mr. Huntley soon built a general store there as well. Procurement of land was based on government grants. Louise Kreutzer, a Huntley native, tells of land regularly changing hands due to settlers’ inability to make mortgage payments and wealthy landowners being quick to foreclose. Despite early hardships, the village grew slowly and steadily. Stewart Cummings was the first postmaster in 1851 and when the village was incorporated in 1872, John S. Cummings, a Civil War veteran became the first mayor. The Chicago and Galena Railroad became the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, and later, Union Pacific Railroad, and served the community for over 150 years, though passenger service was eliminated in about 1950. The railroad was critical to the economic development of Huntley because it provided the means of sending agriculture products to the Chicago market and led to Huntley’s preeminence as a dairy center. In addition to shipping dairy products directly to Chicago, milk producers sold milk to local factories, which processed condensed milk, butter and cheese. There is a strong possibility that passenger train service will be reinstated in the future. The town center was a thriving locale with a variety of retail and service businesses. In 1906, the Elgin and Belvidere Electric Railroad constructed a system linking the two larger cities with all the communities between and provided hourly passenger service in each direction. When more roads were paved and automobiles became prevalent, the use of the electric railroad diminished, and it closed in 1930. When Huntley was platted in 1853, land was set aside in the center of town for a town park. Maps as early as 1872 show the area as open space. A wooden pump stood in the center of the park serving as a water supply for both horses and firefighting. With Huntley’s development as a dairy center, horses were tied to the hitching rail surrounding the park every morning while farmers visited stores after delivering their milk cans at the railroad or factory. On milk contract signing days, the four sides of the park were thickly clustered with horses and wagons. The park was and is an object of pride to the residents. A band shell stood near the center of the park where the brass band performed patriotic music before some of the members marched off to the Civil War. After WWI, Andrew Schmitt, a stonemason, was commissioned by the Huntley Women’s Club to set a stone as a memorial for those who served in the war. He also set a small cannon on a rock base as a memorial. A new gazebo replaced the band shell in the 1990s and is surrounded by trees and shrubs and beautiful flowerbeds. A memorial brick sidewalk marking Huntley’s Sesquicentennial surrounds the gazebo, where a time capsule marking the event is buried. The square was named James Dhamer Park in memory of the 14-year mayor after his death in 1999.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Huntley, Illinois」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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