JOHN MURR FAMILY

The Murr farm was owned and operated by the families from 1839-1977 and consisted of 392 acres originally. It was located six miles southeast of Naperville, DuPage Township, and Will County on Oldfield and River Roads, now named Boughton Road and Washington Street and west of the DuPage Presbyterian Church. Another description was listed as being just beyond the third iron bridge out of Naperville. Three iron bridges crossed the DuPage River outside of town in the early days.

The main part of the farm was purchased from the United States by James Tobey November 16, 1839 which I presume by record and deeds, would by my great-great grandfather. Then my great grandfather, John and Harriet Glover 9/18/1858 and then to my grandparents John and Mary E. Elsie Murr purchased 80 acres 2/23/1907 and the balance of 160 acres 2/16/1921. Then my brother Willliam Murr and Mae (Murr) Landorf had the farm (240) acres from 1953-1977. It was sold in 1977 to developers and annexed to Bolingbrook, which is now a housing development. 

John Murr Sr., my grandfather, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, August 10, 1849, and as a young man came West with a friend, Frank Eichelberger to farm at Jefferson City, Iowa. From his family settled on the Naperville farm form 1886-1912, when my father and mother John Cleveland and Elsie Murr continued farming it and my grandparents retired to Naperville at 233 W.Douglas Avenue.

My father quit farming by doctors orders as in those days the work was very long, strenuous hours and in 1923 also moved into the city of Naperville at Mill and Jefferson Ave. which was a former home of our early settlers, Joseph Naper. Tenants occupied from that time on the farm. Arthur Mueller, one tenant family was on the farm for over 30 years. In those days farmland rented from $14 to $17 per acre.

From 1869 to 1871 my grandfather, John Murr Sr. served in the United States Army and his discharge certificate calls him a “good soldier, a steady and reliable man.” He married Mary E. Glover March 11, 1879.

The Hillside School, a one-room schoolhouse was moved on the northwest corner of the farm from the Abner Royce farm on the north and hauled to the Murr farm one mile south in February 1911 by horse and wagon. They wanted to locate the school at the corner of Oldfield Road and River Road, but the horses couldn’t get it pulled up the hill, so they left it on the north west corner of the farm on River Road. This was District #105 and was on about two acres of land. It was reverted back to the farm in 1955 after the school discontinued being used. Vandals burned the building, August 1965. 

My father, John C. Murr, in the early 1900’s had large shire show horses. He walked the horsed to Chicago yearly for the Annual Stock Shows held in the Chicago StockYards and won many ribbons and honors. Our families are still located in this area.