ELMHURST

city, Du Page county, western suburb of Chicago, northeastern Illinois, U.S. First settled in 1837, it was originally called Cottage Hill for the Hill Cottage, an inn built in 1843 midway between Chicago and the Fox Valley settlement. In 1869 it was renamed Elmhurst (compound of elm and the German cognate of forest). The population increased when the Chicago and North Western Railway arrived (1849), and German labourers were brought in to saw logs from nearby groves for the wood-burning engines. Elmhurst developed as a residential suburb of Chicago and has some light manufacturing. Elmhurst College, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, was founded in 1871. The city's Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art displays gems, minerals, and art objects. Inc. village, 1881; city, 1910. Pop. (1992 est.) 42,765.