Reflections: Boulder Hill’s journey from stock farm to community

It was proving to be an eventful year in and around Oswego, as 1955 proceeded.

Al Wheeler (103 lbs.) and Brad Smith (127 lbs.) brought home Oswego High School’s first Illinois State Wrestling Championships in their weight classes. The Kendall County Square Dancers (including three young Oswegoans) appeared on TV's popular “The Pee Wee King Show.” And in the June 9 Oswego Ledger, editor Ford Lippold predicted, “Now that Western Electric has purchased the United Wallpaper Plant at Montgomery, don’t be too surprised to see several king-size housing developments spring up both on the east and west sides of the river south of Montgomery.”

It didn’t take long for word to spread that plans were already afoot for one of those “king-size housing developments” on the Bereman family’s old Boulder Hill Stock Farm. As Lippold reported on June 23, “The county officials are beginning to be a little concerned over the proposed housing developments, particularly those in Oswego Township, and have held several meetings lately on the possibility of designing some modern building and zoning codes.”

The formal announcement that an investment consortium headed by Lyons developer Don L. Dise had purchased the Boulder Hill Stock Farm was released in late July. In total, the group purchased 716 acres of farmland with the aim of building a planned community similar to the developments being built by William Levitt in New York and Pennsylvania. Dise, himself a Pennsylvania native, was familiar with Levitt’s concept of planned communities that would include residential areas (both single-family and multi-family), schools, churches and shopping areas.

To plan his new community, which he named Boulder Hill after Bereman’s farm, Dise selected Carl Gardner & Associates to draw up the development’s comprehensive plan (later Gardner would also consult on planning Oak Brook). When complete, Gardner’s plan called for a community of 2,000 families in housing at all income levels.

In particular, Dise was aiming his new development at the thousands of World War II and Korean Conflict veterans who were being encouraged to buy new homes through the G.I. Bill. With extremely low down payments, G.I. loans were easy to obtain. In addition, the announcement by Western Electric that their new manufacturing plant would open shortly, along with fairly solid rumors that Caterpillar Tractor Company had plans to build a new plant in northern Oswego Township, suggested there’d be excellent job opportunities for home purchasers in the new development.

But Dise didn’t just market his homes to factory workers. He also included neighborhoods for professionals and executives. Because Aurora, the western terminus of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad’s Chicago commuter line, was an easy drive north of Boulder Hill, Dise was able to market homes that drew some of the railroad’s top executives.

Dise broke ground for Unit 1 of Boulder Hill in the spring of 1956. Streets were laid out, along with utilities, and construction began on the first six model homes. And in May, Mr. and Mrs. Bev Skaggs bought the first home in the new development at 22 Briarcliff Road and construction began at once. The model homes, two of which were completely furnished, opened in September. The Skaggs family moved into their home on Oct. 28 and by the end of 1956 11 families were calling Boulder Hill home.

At first, water service came from one of the farm wells on the property, until Boulder Hill was connected to Montgomery’s municipal water service in 1958. Mail was first delivered from Oswego. Street maintenance, including snow plowing, was the responsibility of Oswego Township. Residents sent their children to Oswego schools, received fire protection service from the Oswego Fire Protection District, and got police protection from the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.

The mostly young married population soon established a number of social groups, including the Hilltop Garden Club and the Boulder Hill Antique Study Group, both of which are still in existence. Joining those two organizations were the Boulder Hill Sports and Social Club and the Boulder Hill Civic Association. In February 1957, a newsletter, the “Boulder Hill-a-baloo,” began publication. Sent to every household, it kept residents up to date on new arrivals and community news.

As growth continued, Dise pledged to donate money to the Oswego School District for every new home constructed in the development, Kendall County’s first land-cash deal with a developer. Dise also donated land for a church and more land for an elementary school. A Phillips 66 gas station opened at Ill. Route 25 and Boulder Hill Pass, and plans were announced for a shopping center to be called the Boulder Hill Market.

At Easter 1958, 58 charter members established the Boulder Hill Neighborhood Church of the Brethren, which began meeting temporarily in the new home at 5 South Bereman. Dise, an active Church of the Brethren member, was instrumental in establishing the church. The church’s permanent home opened in September 1961.

In the summer of 1958, the Boulder Hill Playhouse opened for the first of its seven seasons in a huge converted barn on the old Bereman farmstead. Equipped with an innovative revolving stage, the theater hosted top-notch plays.

The influx of young families with school-age children put an immediate strain on Oswego’s schools. To ease the pressure at the elementary level, Dise agreed to lease a block of new apartments to the school district for use as elementary classroom space until the new Boulder Hill Elementary School opened in September 1961.

In 1963, Dise purchased the Warren Norris farm, connecting Boulder Hill with Douglas Road. It was the first of several acquisitions that eventually drew the development to a contiguous boundary with Oswego. By December 1963, there were 800 homes in Boulder Hill.

Today, Dise’s vision of a total planned community still exists. And at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 23, you’re invited to discover the stories behind Dise’s vision when Elise Poplawski presents the “Secrets and Stories of Boulder Hill” at the Little White School Museum, 72 Polk St., Oswego.

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