Northbrook, "the Village of Friendly Living," was incorporated on November 18, 1901, as Shermerville. Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties brought new hopes, dreams, and a new identity--Northbrook, named for the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River. An airport and seven golf courses opened, and new streets were paved in anticipation of a building boom that went bust, cut short by the Great Depression. Early-1940s expansion was temporarily put on hold for World War II, but by 1949, subdivisions began sprouting up in farm fields. The long-anticipated growth of Northbrook had finally begun. New roads leading to Northbrook and the desire for suburban living caused the quaint 1950s community of 3,348 to grow to 11,635 residents a decade later. Today almost 35,000 people call Northbrook home.
