“Hey honey, I’m going to head out to Melbourne and swing by Ream’s to pick up some ground beef and a ribeye for dinner.”

If Elburn's 1880s village trustees had their way, that theoretical household conversation wouldn’t sound so odd. 

See, back before it was known by its current name, “Elburn” wasn’t its leaders’ first choice. According to local lore, it’s what was left over after trustees proposed "Melbourne" in 1885, had that name vetoed, then started trimming letters until something stuck. 

Elburn has grown and changed quite a bit since its flirtation with the Melbourne moniker 140 years ago. Let’s take a deeper look at the Tri-Cities’ westerly neighbor.

The community was first settled in 1834 and originally known as Blackberry Station, named for the surrounding township. By 1885, trustees wanted something with more polish and floated Melbourne (after the Australian city). 

However, because there were already Illinois towns by that name, the railroad feared people would get confused. So the board shaved off letters instead: Melbourne to Elbourne, and then Elburne, eventually landing on Elburn. 

The official date is somewhat murky — the village's own comprehensive plan shows that Elburn incorporated under that name on January 6, 1885, while historical accounts from Shaw Local and the Chicago Tribune cite 1886. 

Either way, Elburn stuck. 

In 2001, then-Mayor James Willey described Elburn as sitting inside a "wetland box," or a sort of natural drainage divide he treated like an informal growth boundary. While other suburban communities were looking to annex land and quickly build new subdivisions, he wanted Elburn to take the opposite approach.

His mantra at the time was "Melior non maior," Latin for "better, not bigger." 

A quarter century later, that exact phrase again appears several times in the village's 2026-2029 strategic plan framework report. Here’s one snippet from the economic and community development section in that document:

Elburn's population has grown 130% since 2000, which is more than four times the growth rate of Kane County as a whole (28%) and nearly 30 times the growth rate of the seven-county Chicago region (4.3%), according to the latest Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning data.

Five development projects are currently ongoing, including a 282-home phase of the Blackberry Creek subdivision and the 505-acre Elburn Station development by Shodeen Homes near the Metra tracks.

The median household income is now $127,731, well above the Kane County median and higher than Batavia ($120,056) and St. Charles ($114,300). Nearly 90% of homes are owner-occupied, and housing built since 2010 already accounts for close to a quarter of the village's total housing stock. 

Another interesting data point: Elburn’s median age has risen slightly over the past 25 years to 37.6, but it’s still significantly lower than Geneva (43.2), Batavia (42.0), St. Charles (41.5). The percentage of residents over 65 has grown to 12.9%, also markedly lower than each of the Tri-Cities. 

Passenger rail served Elburn from the 1850s until 1959, then disappeared for nearly 50 years. Getting it back took 16 years of lobbying and a $105 million expansion project before Metra's Union Pacific West Line finally reached Elburn again in January 2006, making it the western line’s final stop.

Today’s officials are still figuring out how to best build around that station. A 2022 Elburn Connects Transit Oriented Development Plan cited room for improvement in accessibility, walkability, and connectivity in the surrounding area.

The plan laid out strategies for better connecting the station, business district, and nearby residential neighborhoods to create a more vibrant, cohesive downtown area along Route 47 (Main Street) that is walkable and easy to navigate for vehicles, bikers, and pedestrians.

The town's public pitch hasn't wavered much since Mayor Willey's day. 

When WGN recently visited Elburn for a recent "Your Hometown" segment, current Mayor Jeffrey Walter leaned into the village’s unique name. 

"We do like to refer to ourselves as truly one of a kind, because we are the only town in the world named Elburn," he said. 

In the feature, Walter emphasizes the town’s small-town charm — much like Willey did back at the turn of the century — while acknowledging the village’s ongoing growth. 

"It's still a kind of town where people wave at you when they're walking by you. They honk the horn, say hello, take care of each other," he said. "We've been growing. We've got subdivisions going on both sides of town. So, things are pretty active right now."

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