Karie Angell Luc

Northbrook Karie Angell Luc

Northbrook, "the Village of Friendly Living," was incorporated on November 18, 1901, as Shermerville. Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties brought new hopes, dreams, and a new identity--Northbrook, named for the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River. An airport and seven golf courses opened, and new streets were paved in anticipation of a building boom that went bust, cut short by the Great Depression. Early-1940s expansion was temporarily put on hold for World War II, but by 1949, subdivisions began sprouting up in farm fields. The long-anticipated growth of Northbrook had finally begun. New roads leading to Northbrook and the desire for suburban living caused the quaint 1950s community of 3,348 to grow to 11,635 residents a decade later. Today almost 35,000 people call Northbrook home.