Good Templar Park
| Location | Dodson Rd. [East Side Dr.] and Woodward Ave., Geneva, IL 60134 |
| Established | December 1, 1909 |
| Original Line | Chicago Wheaton & Western Ry |
| Rebuilt | TBD |
| Previous Names | Dodson Road, Dodson’s |
| Tracks | 1 |
| Platforms | 1, low level |
| Flag stop | |
History:
Good Templar Park was a stop on the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad’s Geneva branch situated at the crossing of Dodson Road [East Side Drive].1 The stop opened as Dodson Road on December 1, 1909, as part of the extension of the Chicago, Wheaton & Western from West Chicago to Geneva.2
By the early 1920s, the stop consisted of a cinder platform 120 ft. long with a 12 in. thick wood curb3 and a frame waiting station with hip roof. This modest structure was 8 ft. 2 in. by 6 ft. 2 in. and 7 ft. 8 in. high to its eaves. The roof rose 1 ft. 6 in. above the eaves and was topped with ruberoid shingles.4 Public time tables from this period gave the stop’s name as Dodson’s.
In 1924, a group of Swedish Good Templars hosted their annual Svenskarnas Dag (“Swedes’ Day”) celebration at Ravinia Park. Attendance for this event had grown over the years and in 1924 had reached 10,000. After being charged $4,000 by Ravinia Park (approximately $56,000 in 2017) the Good Templars decided to look for their own location to host their celebration.5 They found 66 acres of land north of the Geneva branch between Dodson Road and the Fox River and purchased it that September6 which became Good Templar Park.
The station’s name was changed to Good Templar Park to reflect the new, adjacent park at this time. Good Templar Park remained a stop on the Chicago Aurora & Elgin until October 31, 1937, when the CA&E abandoned the Geneva branch.