Vernon Hills, Illinois

The land that was to become Vernon Hills, founded by Richard Theodore Freese, Ron Freese, Nathan Kowitt, and Jim Carswell, began with the establishment of a 200-acre (0.81 km²) farm in 1857. Use of the land remained relatively static until the 1960s, when part of it was purchased for a residential community and golf course; the development was the first use of the name "Vernon Hills." On June 16, 1958, the village officially incorporated with 123 residents and 125 houses in a single subdivision built by Quinn Hogan and Barney Loeb.^[4] During these times, the village and police department were run from a local motel until 1971 when village trustees bought two portable buildings.^[4] It saw steady but slow growth until the annexing of a plot of land near the corner of IL-60 and IL-21 in 1971, which led to the building of 1,200,000-square-foot (110,000 m²) Hawthorn Center. By 1980, the village's population had grown to almost 10,000 residents, and by 2000, it had surpassed 20,000.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the village grew geographically through the annexation of surrounding areas. This included land that would become the Corporate Woods business park and Centennial Crossing residential development (1986), a 1,200-acre (4.9 km²) section of Hawthorne-Mellody Farms (1988), and part of the village of Half Day (1994).

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Vernon Hills has a total area of 7.95 square miles (20.59 km²), of which 7.74 square miles (20.05 km²) (or 97.43%) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km²) (or 2.57%) is water.^[5]

• American Optical Company, a luxury eyewear designer and manufacturer
• CDW, a provider of technology products and services for business, government and education, is based out of Vernon Hills.
• Zebra Technologies, a manufacturer of thermal bar code label and receipt printers used by over 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies, is based out of Vernon Hills.
• American Hotel Register Company, a well-known manufacturer and supplier of hospitality products and services, is based out of Vernon Hills.
• Rust-Oleum Corporation, a worldwide leader in protective paints and coatings for both home and industry, is based out of Vernon Hills.
• Cole-Parmer, a scientific and industrial instrument distributor

Recently, Vernon Hills developed a former 52 acre soybean field into a $200 million shopping center known as Mellody Farm, whose tenants are a host of restaurant and retail businesses.^[16]

When Tiger Electronics was an independent company, its headquarters were in Vernon Hills.^[17][18]

Vernon Hills is one of six communities which, in part, comprise the Cook Memorial Public Library District. The Evergreen Interim library, which was one of the District's two library facilities, closed on July 3, 2010. On July 10, 2010, the new Aspen Drive Library opened to the public. This 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) building is located across the street from the Vernon Hills Elementary and Grade School Campus at 701 N Aspen Drive.

The Aspen Drive Library in Vernon Hills is the village's first full-service library. The new library is 20,000 sq. ft. and offers 120,000 volumes of books, movies and music. The library also has an interactive children's department, a high-tech teen area, a state-of-the-art computer lab, small group study spaces and community meeting rooms.^[20]

The remainder of Vernon Hills is in the Vernon Area Public Library District.

In 2000, the village acquired land that had belonged at different times to the U.S. Army as a Nike missile base, the U.S. Navy as a naval training center, and the Curtiss Candy Company; it was converted to what is now the 184-acre (0.74 km²) Vernon Hills Athletic Complex (VHAC).

Vernon Hills lies in the Illinois 10th Congressional District.

There are six grade schools in the village served by the Hawthorn School District. In 2006, Hawthorn Junior High School was formally divided into Hawthorn Middle School North and Hawthorn Middle School South. High school students, who formerly went to Libertyville High School, now attend (as of 2000–2001) either Vernon Hills High School or Libertyville High School.

Students living in the southwest corner of Vernon Hills attend Long Grove grade schools (Country Meadows & Woodlawn). Some subdivisions in southern Vernon Hills send students to Lincolnshire schools, including Adlai E. Stevenson High School. A small area in the southwest corner of the village is zoned to attend the high school in Mundelein, IL.

Elementary Schoolers may be enrolled in four different Hawthorn Schools. Hawthorn Elementary South, Hawthorn Elementary North, Aspen Elementary, or Townline Elementary.