| Woodstock
is located in McHenry County, Illinois, 51 miles north of the Chicago
Loop. Originally the town was called Centerville to attract the
seat of McHenry County government in 1842. The Centerville site
was chosen when Alvin Judd donated a two-acre public square for county
offices. The square became the hub of a village plat recorded in
1844. In 1845, the name was changed from Centerville to Woodstock,
named after the
Vermont birthplace of an early settler, Joel Johnson.
Woodstock
incorporated as a village in 1852 and received city status in 1873. The
imposing Greek revival-style
courthouse that stands next to the square was built in 1857 and now
houses the Old Court House Arts Center, The Dick Tracy Museum, and other
businesses.
In 1855 the Chicago and North Western
Railroad passed through Woodstock. Farmers could then send their dairy
production quickly to Chicago. The Borden Company opened a dairy
processing plant, one of the world's largest.
Woodstock was home to two typewriter
factories, Emerson Typewriter Company and Oliver Typewriter. By
1922, about half of the world's typewriters were made in Woodstock.
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In
1887 a jail was built on the square. Of historical note, in
January 1895, a federal court in Chicago sentenced Eugene V. Debs,
president of the American Railway Union, to jail in Woodstock for his
activity in the 1894 Pullman Strike. The square was filled with
over 10,000 onlookers when he was released in November of that year.
In 1890 a combined city hall, library,
firehouse and theater (opera house) was built on the square. The
historic opera house has been in continual operation since that time and
today features plays, concerts and other entertainment. Jane
Addams and Leo Tolstoy spoke in the Woodstock Opera House on different
occasions. The theater was also used by students from the private
Todd School for Boys in Woodstock, including the notable Orson Welles.
Welles hinted at his experiences at the school and Opera house in
his 1946 move The Stranger.
The city hall and library over the years vacated the
building and moved to other quarters. Today the building is home to the
Woodstock Musical Theatre Company, The TownSquare Players and the Mozart
Festival. Several young graduates of Chicago's Goodman
Theatre School were provided with valuable professional experience in the late 1940s
and early 1950s in Woodstock. Shelly Berman, Tom Bosely, Paul Newman, Geraldine
Page, and Lois Nettleton performed regularly at the Woodstock Opera House.
Adapted from the Electronic Encyclopedia -
Chicago Historical Society.
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