Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Lake Forest Water Company
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Lake Forest Water Company began operation in 1891, pumping water from Lake Michigan up to the town and its individual home estates. George Holt, son of town founder D.R. Holt, was the president for a long term, but by the early 20th C. there were complaints about water rates, and later about water pressure.
After 1921 the City took over operation of the Water Works and service, expanding it with a bond issue in the mid 1920s and then again in 1930, following the economic expansion of Chicago. Many citizens for this reason had seasonal homes in Lake Forest. The Garden Club of Illinois, Lake Forest and Winnetka, was organized in 1912, and by 1922 the Lake Forest Garden Club was a central force for garden development locally.