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Looking Back Looking Ahead As early as 1837, more than 50 years before we took our name, homesteaders heading for the Wisconsin Territory were welcomed at Filkins' Stage Coach Tavern after their day-long journey from Chicago. As the number of travelers increased, so, too, did lodging places along the natural, overland trail which eventually became Illinois Route 21 (Milwaukee Road). Could those early innkeepers have imagined that they would be the forerunners of our remarkable collection of restaurants? Wheeling has never been without its dining establishments, and the hospitality that characterized the earliest of them set a pattern for those that followed. Similarly, the fertile soil repaid our earliest settlers' efforts in both abundance and diversity. Subsistence farming soon became export farming. Wholesalers and retailers from Chicago's growing population were drawn to the little community on the way to Wisconsin, and began businesses here. As landscaping gained importance, another cash crop came into its own, and Wheeling became synonymous with landscape nurseries. With the big city so near, that Wheeling would become suburbia was inevitable. State and federal highways provided direct access to Chicago whose population eyed our open space with envy and admiration. The real awakening of commerce and industry began in the 1960s. Next, developers built whole neighborhoods, followed by shopping centers and service industries. Businesses with an eye to our prime location and established rail service, provides Wheeling with diverse employment and the satisfaction of having become a self-contained municipality. Wheeling marked its Centennial in 1994 with a year-long celebration, capping those hundred years of progress with the dedication of our Centennial Plaza Fountain. Take time to tour the Wheeling Historical Society Museum and make a nostalgic journey of your own some Sunday afternoon. Hours are 2 to 4 p.m., and special guided tours may be arranged for other days and hours. The museum, which was once used as Village Hall, was built in 1894 and is located at 251 North Wolf Road in Chamber Park. Wheeling.com winner of the Chamber of Commerce "Business of the year" award! Home | Back | Guestbook | Retail Property | Businesses | Events Election 97 | Chamber of Commerce | Neighborhoods | Wheeling Links Local News | Cool Links and Free Stuff | Comments | Volunteers This site created and maintained by: Byte Me! Computer Sales and Service, Inc.