Bloomingdale, Illinois

Episode 105 / 7 February 2019 / 155 min / full

Charles Manson Without The LSD

"Bloomingdale, Illinois, to be specific; this is in northeastern Illinois, just outside of Chicago, a suburb of Chicago; it's in Dupage." about 0:06:55

The case: Murder of Phyllis Lopes and attempted murder of Shirley Johnston (June 1970 to March 1972); Death of Helen Hansen (July 1966). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2019

Population

22,254

Median age

44.3

Median household income

$71,000

Median home value

$276,200

Two-bedroom rent

about $1,680

Cost of living

124

Religious

72%

Property crime

▲ about 20% higher

Violent crime

▼ about 25% lower

Murderers released from Illinois prisons in 1983

234

Average time served by those 234 murderers

10.2 years

Time Lopes served before parole

▼ eleven and a half years

History, in brief

• The Meacham family came to the area in 1833. about 0:08:59
• The settlement was originally called Meacham's Grove. about 0:09:24
• Silas, Lyman and Harvey Meacham were the first settlers; they pitched their tents in March with snow still on the ground. about 0:10:19
• The native people knew the grove as Pinnac Grove, named after a potato-like root. about 0:12:35
• Harvey Meacham lent a valuable rifle to the native people, who returned it on the promised day, after which the two groups began to trust each other. about 0:14:01
• Lyman Meacham's wife died in the autumn of 1833; her coffin was made from boards taken from a wagon box brought from the east. about 0:15:21
• The next death was a young mechanic who was buried in a coffin made from a big log. about 0:15:32
• The Meacham brothers built a log house for each of their families and planted and fenced 40 acres of prairie. about 0:16:37
• The settlement increased to 15 families by the end of 1834. about 0:16:48
• The first permanent building, a Baptist church, was built in 1849; it still stands and is now a museum. about 0:17:54
• Bloomingdale was originally in Cook County and was annexed to DuPage County in 1839. about 0:19:56
• In 1923 the village split and the northern part became the separate town of Roselle. about 0:20:50
• The population grew from 338 people in 1950 to 12,659 in 1980. about 0:21:02
• The town motto is Growth with pride. about 0:08:05

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