Adam and Phoebe Brown of Ohio. built a home and opened a general store some 74 years earlier at the intersection of Sauk Trail and the old Hubbard Trail. "Browns Comer" became a busy crossroads. first allegedly for the Underground Railroad. then later for wagons. stagecoaches. railroads. and automobiles. One year after incorporating. the residents worked together to build the villages first school. the U.S. Grant School. As the village grew so did the budget and city services. The first years budget was $3.800. which was met by property taxes and three saloon licenses at $500 each. In its early days the village steadily grew as immigrants of Italian. Polish. German and other ancestries moved here to work in nearby factories. railroads. and local businesses.
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immigrants