Clarendon Hills was officially recorded as a Village in 1873 and incorporated in 1924. Clarendon Hills Business District began in a small way with a General Store which was destroyed by fire in 1892. It was located south of the Burlington tracks on the east side of what is now Prospect Ave.
In the present business district the first building was built in 1911 and it housed the Post Office and General Store. It still stands on the southwest corner of Prospect and Railroad Avenues and is the current home of Quinn’s Coffee Shop and Carpet Showcase. This is the humble beginnings of our quaint Village. Expansion was slow but steady and continued south along Prospect Avenue and the rest, as they say, is history!
History of the “Daisy” affiliation with Clarendon Hills actually happened by accident. Henry Middaugh was an affluent resident of Clarendon Hills and when it came time to plant grass for his grazing cattle and sheep, he wanted only the extra-special best. That was what was requested but not what he received. His special grass seed was actually daisy seed. One can only imagine the gentleman farmer’s chagrin at the magnificent crop of daisies which his seed produced. The Clarendon Hills area was called “Daisy Fields” by persons who passed through on the train and to this day the daisy has become a trademark of Clarendon Hills.
