Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Dec. 20.
Did you ever wonder why Yorkville is called the “United City”? Originally the Village of Yorkville occupied the area south of the Fox River and the Town of Bristol occupied the area north of the Fox River.
The original proposition to combine the two “areas” into one came about at a meeting, “called by many citizens, was held in Union Hall on January 10, 1865.” Citizens of the two villages wanted to be united under one name. Many ideas were thrown out, but ones that were voted on were:
• Bristol
• Yorkville
• Blackton
• Sheridan
• Atlanta
• Middleton
• Granton
The final vote was taken on the proposed name of the combined city that evening and “the Chairman declared Granton as the name selected.” Because this was brought about by a meeting of citizens and not a formal incorporation referendum, the two cities were not formally united at that time. It wasn’t until 93 years later in 1957 that there was a formal Special Election on the ballot for the citizens of the Village of Yorkville and the Village of Bristol to unite, but the residents at that time abandoned the name of “Granton” and chose to unite under the name of the Village of Yorkville. And so, on April 16, 1957, the election took place and the vote for unification of the “United City of the Village of Yorkville” was Yorkville, yes, 215, no 104; Bristol, yes 116; no, 28.
The election of officers (Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer, Alderman (3 wards) took place on July 30, 1957. Although the United City of Yorkville feels and looks like a historic city, it is only 61 years old!
Thank you to Howard Manthei, Executive Director of the Chapel on the Green, for sharing these historic articles with us to help share
Original source can be found here.
Source: Yorkville Area Chamber of Commerce
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