Field Notes
Stories that stitch people, places, and events together into something fun to read.
3 field notes
June 13, 1887: The Day East Dundee Became a Corporation
The oldest surviving record book from the Village of East Dundee, Illinois opens on a Tuesday in June 1887 with a single line: a date, a quorum, and a president's name. No ceremony. No preamble. No account of why these men decided now was the time.
The Guldans in the Ledgers — One Family, Two Roles, 1887–1895
East Dundee's first village record book opens with an ordinance slate, a handful of saloon licenses, and — within weeks — a line item for a police uniform. On June 27, 1887, the Board of Trustees voted ten dollars toward an "ivory blue Police suit" for Henry Guldan, the man who would go on to be, effectively, the village's entire law enforcement operation for its first decade.
We Were Always a Bar Town — East Dundee's Saloon History, 1887
East Dundee became a village on July 5, 1887. By August 31st, it had five saloons.