What is the history of Palatine, Illinois?
The first European-American to settle in Palatine is generally thought to be George Ela, who built a log cabin in the area now called Deer Grove. Ela was one of the first of a wave of pioneers to migrate to northern Illinois following the Black Hawk War. Ela is also the name of a main road just west of the town of Palatine. The Village of Palatine was founded in 1855. It was built around a station on the new Chicago and North Western Railway. Joel Wood surveyed and laid out the village, earning him the title of Palatine’s founder. In 1866, Palatine was finally incorporated as a village. Palatine’s first suburb-style subdivision was called Palanois Park, built shortly after World War II. The town has experienced truly explosive growth since the 1970s, when it was reached by Chicago’s ever-growing suburban sprawl. Palatine was home to the Cook County Fair when it existed up until the Mid- 20th Century. The fairgrounds are now a sub-division with a name that pays tribute to Palatine’s for
