Maywood

Maywood Municipal Water Report Information

The Village of Maywood is an Illinois home-rule municipality established October 22, 1881. The community was named after May, the daughter of founder Colonel William T. Nichols, who passed away prematurely. Colonel Nichols served as both a State Representative and Senator from Vermont's Rutland County and fought with Vermont Volunteers during the Civil War.

In 1868, Colonel Nichols and six associates traveled from Vermont to Illinois where they formed the Maywood Company to develop the village. Colonel Nichols resided here until his death in 1882. His home stood at the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Oak Street (formerly Second Street), where the First Suburban National Bank now operates. The residence was demolished following World War I.

The original Maywood plat measured 1-3/4 miles north-south and a half-mile east-west along the Des Plaines River, with the Chicago Northwestern Railroad running through its center. M.C. Niles of Oak Park owned the farmland south of the tracks, selling it to The Maywood Company for $100 per acre. This farmhouse remains standing at 104 Oak Street, now operating as The Way Back Inn.

North of the railroad were several farms, with E.W. Hoard of Oak Park owning the largest. Hoard sold his property to The Maywood Company as well. His farmhouse was near the current Lincoln School site at 9th and Chicago Avenues.

Maywood's development featured periods of both setback and growth. The Maywood Company constructed over 100 homes in 1872, and the village appeared destined for prosperity until economic challenges arose in 1873. However, Maywood rebounded with its population doubling between 1880 and 1890.

The community housed the 33rd Tank Company, Illinois National Guard (Company B), with its Armory on Madison Street. Organized May 3, 1929 for combat training, 122 men from Company B were activated on November 25, 1940, becoming part of the 192nd Tank Battalion that fought in the Philippines during World War II. The unit endured the infamous "Bataan Death March" in April 1942, with only 41 men returning alive to Maywood.

To honor their sacrifice, Bataan Day Parades were held in Maywood every second Sunday in September from 1942 to 1987. The Maywood Bataan Day Organization continues this tradition, hosting a 50th Anniversary Banquet in September 1992. A tank and cannon memorialize the 192nd Tank Battalion at Veterans Memorial Park, located at 1st Avenue and Oak Street. In recognition of these soldiers' supreme sacrifice, Congress designated Maywood the "Village of Eternal Light."