Early History
Until the turn of the century, the area now known as the Village of Midlothian - named for an ancient borough in Scotland - was little more than a milk stop along the Rock Island Railroad serving a few area farmers. In 1900, a group of wealthy Chicago industrialists, looking for respite and retreat from the crowded city, discovered the green knolls and rolling fairways of the new Midlothian Country Club and golf course. Deciding they needed faster transportation, they petitioned the Rock Island to build a spur track, and soon passenger trains were speeding people from Chicago to the quiet little village.
The Rock Island also built a depot - complete with a potbelly stove to provide heat - and traffic to Midlothian began increasing. By 1915, land developers who saw opportunity in Midlothian began arriving, purchased land from farmers and subdivided the farms into tracts of land for housing developments. Soon the first general store opened, then a school, and then more businesses offering goods and services to serve the community's fast-growing population. The Midlothian Fire Department was organized in 1924.
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