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Location 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
21 S. Maple Street - Herman Meyn House (next to Historical Society)
This
beautiful old frame house was built in 1912, just a few years after the Dietrich
Friedrichs House. The house was the first home of the newly married couple,
Herman Meyn and Ida Deeke. They were married on New Years Eve in 1911 and
shortly thereafter moved into their new house. Herman Meyn purchased the land
that the house sits on but the parents of Ida Deeke paid to have the house built
as a wedding present.
Herman
Meyn was the son of John Meyn, the first blacksmith in Mount Prospect. When
Herman and Ida were married, Herman was still working with his father in the
blacksmith shop. However, he soon moved on to other pursuits. He was elected
Mayor of Mount Prospect in 1929 and served until 1937, or through most of the
Great Depression. Mount Prospect was one of the few municipal governments in
Illinois that did not go bankrupt during the Depression, partially because of
Herman's wise leadership. Herman's role in politics was not over after he
stopped being mayor, he also served as the fire chief for many years.
Herman also worked a number of different jobs in town. Other that working as a blacksmith, he sold farm tools and lawn mowers and later started one of the first gas stations in Mount Prospect.