Gail Borden library, named for a man who never lived in Elgin, ready to kick off its 150th anniversary

Local historian Jerry Turnquist has been readying the presentation he’ll be giving Friday night to commemorate the 150th year of the Elgin library — a library that bears the name of a man who never lived in the city.

It opened March 19, 1874, and was operated by Elgin Township, he said.

“It was on the third floor of the Home Bank Building, a site now occupied by the Tower Building,” Turnquist said.

At the time, the city was gaining recognition beyond the Fox Valley thanks to the Elgin Watch Factory, the Elgin State Hospital and a burgeoning dairy industry, he said.

The library moved to a home fitting the city’s growing stature in the early 1890s when Alfred and Samuel Church donated a mansion at Spring Street and Highland Avenue for its use. The only proviso: It was to be renamed the Gail Borden Public Library.

The Church brothers were the stepsons of Borden, who built his empire manufacturing condensed milk but never actually lived in the city.

Borden was born in New York in 1801, moved to Texas to be a newspaper publisher, struggled in that business and returned to New York. Widowed and nearly broke, Borden’s luck changed when, at age 55, he was awarded a patent for condensed milk in 1856.

It took another five years for Borden to finance and open his first plant. He initially sold his product from hand carts in New York City, where it quickly became a hit with consumers who like that the milk did not spoil if not kept cold.

Borden’s second wife was Eunice Church, a widow with two sons and ties to Elgin. It was from his new wife that he learned about the area and made frequent trips to the city to visit.

When expanding his business in 1865, Borden established the Elgin Milk Condensing Co.

He eventually bought a home in Elgin in 1873 but never actually lived in it. Health issues returned him to Texas, where he died in 1874.

The library remained at 50 N. Spring St. until the early 1970s, when the Gail Borden Library District was created and a new library built at the southwest corner of Kimball Street and Grove Avenue, Turnquist said.

As the community grew, so did demand for the library’s services. The current downtown facility opened at 270 N. Grove Ave. in October 2003, across from its prior location. The Rakow Branch on Bowes Road in Elgin followed in August 2009 and the South Elgin Branch on South McLean Boulevard in July 2016.

Turnquist’s presentation Friday evening is part of a reception being hosted by the Gail Borden Library Foundation at the downtown library as a kick-off to the district’s 150th anniversary celebration.

It’s just one of the ways the milestone is being marked, library spokeswoman Denise Raleigh said.

The new holiday lights adorning the building were funded by the foundation to celebrate the occasion, and the library is selling a holiday ornament marking the library’s first 150 years.

“We will have programs and presentations throughout the year,” Raleigh said. “They’ll include a special exhibit with a nod to our 150 years of service, an old-time fair and much more.

“We also want to collect sentiments from our community,” she said. “We are so honored to serve this community.”

Tickets to Friday night’s kick-off celebration are $30 and can be purchased at gbpl.info/dec8tickets.

The after-hours event is set for 6 to 8 p.m. and in addition to Turnquist’s talk, there will be hors d’oeuvres and entertainment, a trivia contest, prizes and other activities. All proceeds benefit programs funded by the foundation in support of the library district.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.