Denburn Woods has very real roots in the history of our
nation. In the early 1800’s Indian
trails intersected just to the east, and it is likely that one of the trails of
the peaceful Potawatomi passed through what is now our woods. (Remnants of what appeared to be an old
corduroy woods road was found in Brook Lane and it was speculated that it might
have been constructed on the line of an original Indian trail).
Downers Grove, of which Denburn Woods is such a unique part,
was founded by Pierce Downer in 1832.
Born in 1782 (just six years after the start of the American Revolution)
he was a pioneer in the true American sense.
In the last 1800’s, following the Civil War, General Arthur C. Ducat
(who had migrated to America from Ireland as a young man) acquired vast acreage
in the Downers Grove area and, preferring a country residence, built his home –
a mansion for its day – in the center of our woods. He named his estate Lindenwald, and a portion
of Denburn Woods retains that name to this day.
There are other inheritances that have been passed on to us
as well. Meadow Lane extends into the
area that was known as “The Meadow”, where The General, being an enthusiastic
sportsman, grazed his horses. Though
remodeled many times over the years, his stately home still remains where it
faces Turvey Court, but with its second and third stories long since
removed.
Even the familiar names Turvey Road, Turvey Lane, and Turvey
Court have their derivation from “Turvey Place” – a manor house in Ireland and
a long term residence of General Ducat’s Soctch/English parents, where he spent
many of his boyhood years. The names
Turvey Road and Denburn Woods were established at the time of the subdivision
of the estate by the General’s heirs. We
don’t know the derivation of Denburn, except to say that one of the definition
Webster gives den is “sanctuary” and that burn means “brook” in Scottish, so it
is both a fitting name and a unique one.
However, most important of what has been passed on to us is
the natural beauty of the Woods – along with enough land so that property
owners have generally been able to develop and maintain their home sites in the
way they chose, without unduly affecting the vistas that have been enjoyed by
the neighbors.
In the early 1950’s, recognizing that construction of homes in our Woods was accelerating, the Denburn Woods Homeowners’ Association was founded. The Association itself is somewhat unique, in that it was not established by a subdivision developer whose mandatory membership and the payment of dues runs with the title of each property. Rather, membership is voluntary and yet since its inception the membership rolls have included virtually every home owner.