Following the Nov. 16, 1901, referendum to incorporate, Louis Voltz was elected as the first president of Shermerville on Dec. 16, 1901. Courtesy of the Northbrook Historical Society

This postcard from 1915 is a good example of the muddy conditions faced by early Shemerville residents-although there are concrete walkways on the Shemer Avenue bridge and on the road to the city center at this time, please pay attention to the flooded north side Regional bridge. Courtesy of Northbrook Historical Society

For a small town, this is a major decision.

In 1901, the residents of Shermerville (population just over 300) faced the question: Should the villages be merged?

Although the total number of votes may not be displayed, the results are important. In addition, this question has two opposing aspects. But in the end, the citizens of Shemerville chose to merge.

The Cook County Circuit Court confirmed the decision on November 18, 1901-which means that November 18, 2021 is "Happy Northbrook's 120th birthday!"

The choice to merge was made a long time ago, but it is still a milestone in local history, which includes some interesting aspects. The first involves voting itself. When the company formation vote was held on November 16, 1901, there were 35 votes in favor, 32 votes against, and two invalid votes—that is, only 69 votes were cast, and the referendum was passed by only three votes!

Although the total number of votes may seem surprisingly low, remember that in 1901 only men could participate in such elections.

According to "Northbrook, Illinois: The Structure of Our History," there is also a rule that in order to hold a referendum, 300 residents (including men, women, and children) must live in no more than two square miles. The bricklayer residential area along Wheeling (Dundee) Road, called Bachtown, was included to cater for 300 residents. It is not yet known how many qualified male voters are in the two square mile area.

Two different views on the merger involve the issue of civic improvement—especially the sidewalks in the downtown area. From the "structure of our history": "Due to the threat of high taxes, there is a lot of opposition to mergers, especially among salon operators."

Not surprisingly, other Shemerville business owners prefer sidewalks to "dirty planks surrounding the business district." As Edward D. Landwehr (Edward D. Landwehr was one of several business owners who promoted company registration) wrote in his memoirs: "At this time, arriving at school has become difficult for most of the time. Muddy hiking is a topic of indignation...Narrow planks and cinders are not a safe and convenient solution for pedestrian travel. If the town is established under state law, this situation can be remedied by providing an ordinance that unifies the usable sidewalks."

(The school that Landwehr refers to was originally the one-room framed Sherman School on Timber (Waukegan) Road. It eventually became the four-room brick Shermerville School, then the larger Northbrook School [and Northbrook High School], and then It’s the Crestwood School. After it closed in 1979, the building was repurposed for senior citizens and reopened as Crestwood Plaza in 1985.)

On December 16, 1901—just a month after the merger referendum—the first election of village officials was held. Louis Voltz was elected president, and the trustees were Henry Williams, John Ward, Henry Bestor, Reinhart Blank, Peter Bellert and Norman Carstensen. George W. Smith was elected Village Clerk. There was a three-point tie for one of the trustee positions, and Blanc won after drawing lots with George A. Kist and Hewlett-Packard Menzel.

As recorded in "The Structure of Our History", the first Seamerville Village Committee meeting was held on December 23, 1901 in Lorenz Hall, located above the repair shop in downtown Lorenz. On January 6, 1902, Hermann Lorenz was appointed as treasurer and Gust Fischer was appointed as marshal, "provided that he is serving unpaid. He is the only law enforcement officer."

As for the obvious main issue that led to the merger referendum: the street commissioner's office was established in July 1902, but cinder continued to be scattered on most sidewalks for many years. Obviously, it wasn't until 1906 that some concrete sidewalks began to appear near the urban area. By 1910, when the town’s population had increased to 434, it was said that most of the sidewalks in the main shopping area were concrete.

• We are compiling a list of 120 things we love about Northbrook to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Northbrook. We hope to get your opinion! Please tell us by Monday, November 22 what you think your village has good: send an email to mshamie@dailyherald.com and write "Northbrook Anniversary" in the subject line.