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==History== [[File:Illinois - Western Spring through Woodstock - NARA - 23939981 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Woodstock in 1936]] === Early days, Centerville === Woodstock was originally known as Centerville because of its location at the geographic center of McHenry County. It was chosen as the county seat on September 4, 1843. Early settler Alvin Judd developed a [[plat]] for the town, which incorporated a two-acre public square, near which a 2-story frame courthouse and jail were constructed the following year by George C. Dean and Daniel Blair.<ref name="encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org"/> In 1845, prominent resident Joel Johnson proposed that Centerville be given a more original name, and the town was renamed Woodstock after Johnson's hometown of [[Woodstock, Vermont]]. The town was still listed as "Center" on the 1850 Federal Census. In 1852, Woodstock was incorporated as a village with Judd as president. In response to a growing population following the end of the Civil War, Woodstock was incorporated as a city in 1873.<ref name="encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org"/> John S. Wheat was elected as Woodstock's first mayor. A vital artery for the growing town was the train line to and from Chicago, which allowed for a substantial industrial presence early in the town's history.<ref name="encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1380.html |title=Woodstock, IL |website=Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org |access-date=2016-03-31}}</ref> === Eugene V. Debs' prison stay === [[File:WoodstockILCourtHJail.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The Old McHenry County Courthouse and jail in Woodstock]] In 1895, [[Eugene V. Debs]] served a short federal prison sentence in the Woodstock Jail following the [[Pullman Strike|1894 Pullman labor strike]] in Chicago. Debs, the former president of the American Railway Union, was held in Woodstock instead of Chicago because federal officials feared that he would be surrounded with too many sympathizers in a Chicago prison and therefore could have still incited further unrest. Debs was instead assigned to a cell in the newly constructed Woodstock Jail, which occupied the lowest floor of the [[Old McHenry County Courthouse|Woodstock Courthouse]] on the town square.<ref name="Debs">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cUwuAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA45|title=Debs: His Life, Writings and Speeches: With a Department of Appreciations|last=Debs|first=Eugene Victor|date=1908-01-01|publisher=C. H. Kerr & Company|language=en}}</ref> During his time in the jail, Debs received several influential socialist visitors and encountered the works of [[Karl Marx]]. He is said to have considered the Woodstock Jail one of the "greatest school[s]," and passed his time reading and writing many letters from his cell. By the time he was released in November 1895 (to great fanfare and before crowds of onlookers assembled in the Woodstock Square), Debs had become a [[Socialism|socialist]] and a national celebrity.<ref name="Debs"/> He later ran for the [[United States Presidency]] five times between 1900 and 1920 as the candidate for the newly formed [[Social Democratic Party (United States)|Social Democratic Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.history.com/topics/eugene-v-debs|title=Eugene V. Debs - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com|website=HISTORY.com|access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> === "Typewriter City" === During the early part of the 20th century, Woodstock had become "Typewriter City" and was home to factories of both the Emerson Typewriter Company and the [[Oliver Typewriter Company]]. Woodstock workers had built more than half the world's typewriters by 1922.<ref name="encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org" /> The companies were very much a part of civic life in Woodstock during this time. Both factories had active social clubs, baseball teams that competed against one another, and Emerson had a well-regarded band that played at public events.<ref name="Woodstock, by Nancy Baker">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRgWMM-VlhUC&pg=PA39 |title=Woodstock, by Nancy Baker|isbn=9780738540801|last1=Baker|first1=Nancy L.|year=2006|publisher=Arcadia }}</ref><ref name="emersonlofts.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.emersonlofts.com/index.php|title=Emerson Lofts - Models {{!}} Our luxurious one and two bedroom lofts feature a perfect blend of historical and contemporary style.|website=www.emersonlofts.com|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref> In 1919, Emerson Typewriter became the Woodstock Typewriter Company. The city grew and flourished with increasing demand for Woodstock typewriters through and after [[World War II]]. Initially the company sold typewriters for use in the war effort both domestically and abroad, but after the war's end returning servicemen, now familiar with the Woodstock brand, chose these models for their households. The factory was in use until 1970, and has since been converted into lofts.<ref name="Woodstock, by Nancy Baker"/><ref name="emersonlofts.com"/> <gallery> File:Main Street, Woodstock, Ill.jpg|Main Street looking north, circa 1910 File:Typewriters in Woodstock Il window.jpeg|Typewriters in a Woodstock business' window in 2013. Note the name "Woodstock" on some of them. </gallery> === Orson Welles and the Todd School for Boys === Woodstock had an important role in the creative development of [[Orson Welles]]. In 1926, in the midst of a chaotic upbringing, he enrolled at the [[Todd Seminary for Boys|Todd School for Boys]] in Woodstock at age 10. His five-year stay there was his only formal education, and the town and school made an impression on the young Welles. Years later, in 1960, when asked where he thought of as his hometown, he replied "I suppose it's Woodstock, Illinois, if it's anywhere. I went to school there for four years. If I try to think of a home, it's that."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/articles/Orson-Welles-9527363|title=Orson Welles Biography - Biography.com|access-date=October 9, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012031516/http://www.biography.com/articles/Orson-Welles-9527363|archive-date=October 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/discover/programs/c/close-up/close-up-feb-25-1960.html|title=Close Up: Orson Welles, part 1|publisher=Interview by Bernard Braden, [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], February 25, 1960 (22:58–23:12)|access-date=2014-09-26}}</ref> At Todd School, the young Welles came under the positive influence and guidance of Roger Hill, a teacher who later became the school's headmaster. Hill provided Welles with an educational environment that supported his creativity, allowing Welles to concentrate on subjects that interested him. Welles performed and staged his first theatrical experiments and productions at Todd. He also performed at the downtown Woodstock Opera House, where the stage — the site of his American debut as a professional theatre director — is now dedicated to him.<ref name="Todd Festival Anniversary">{{cite web|url=http://www.woodstockoperahouse.com/files/Events/PerformancePages/2014Welles_Festival.html|title=Orson Welles 1934 Todd Theatre Festival 80th Anniversary|publisher=Woodstock Opera House|access-date=2014-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812214426/http://www.woodstockoperahouse.com//files/Events/PerformancePages/2014Welles_Festival.html|archive-date=2014-08-12|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Dedication">{{cite web|url=http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=4677|title=Orson Welles Stage dedicated at Woodstock Opera House|date=February 10, 2013|publisher=Wellesnet|access-date=2014-09-26}}</ref> Welles returned to Woodstock periodically after leaving school. In July 1934 at the age of 19, he coordinated the Todd Theatre Festival, a six-week summer festival at the [[Woodstock Opera House]] that featured [[Hilton Edwards]] and [[Micheál MacLiammóir]] of Dublin's [[Gate Theatre]].<ref name="Tarbox">Tarbox, Todd, ''Orson Welles and Roger Hill: A Friendship in Three Acts''. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media, 2013, {{ISBN|1-59393-260-X}}.</ref>{{Rp|165}} His short film ''[[The Hearts of Age]]'' was shot on the Todd School campus during the festival.<ref name="Library Brochure">{{cite web|url=http://www.woodstockpubliclibrary.org/sites/woodstockpubliclibrary.org/files/ToddSchoolHistoryWoodstock.pdf|title=Todd School for Boys 1848–1954, Woodstock, Illinois|publisher=Woodstock Public Library|access-date=2014-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905214834/http://www.woodstockpubliclibrary.org/sites/woodstockpubliclibrary.org/files/ToddSchoolHistoryWoodstock.pdf|archive-date=2014-09-05|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0506.html|title=Orson Welles is Dead at 70; Innovator of Film and Stage|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref> Todd School for Boys closed in 1954. Several original buildings were purchased at auction and reused by Marian Central Catholic High School and Christian Life Services.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/09/05/activists-say-dorm-filled-with-history/|title=In Woodstock, historic dorm for boys school attended by Orson Welles faces demolition|last=Channick|first=Robert|date=5 September 2008|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=28 April 2014}}</ref> Welles' former dormitory was demolished in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wclsil.org/About/allhistory.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207025142/http://wclsil.org/About/allhistory.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 7, 2013|title=About Hearthstone Communities|publisher=Hearthstone Communities|access-date=28 April 2014}}</ref>
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