History

Founded in 1850, the Maine Township is the oldest unit of local government in the area. During its existence, it has seen its surroundings grow from a predominantly rural farming community to a major metropolitan area with some 130,000 residents.

The Township moved to its current headquarters at 1700 Ballard Road in Park Ridge in 1980. The building was a former church designed by Lloyd Wright, son of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Maine Township's Town Hall stands on land originally purchased by William and Bertha Pump in 1918, as farmland. They later sold it to a real estate developer. In 1957, the site committee of Good Shepherd Community Church was searching for a permanent location for their parish. Godfrey Lindstrom, a home builder, heard about their search and agreed to set aside two and a half acres at the southwest corner of this new sixty-home subdivision, known as Ballard Gardens, in the unincorporated area north of Park Ridge, Illinois.

Declining membership forced Good Shepherd Parish to sell its 20,000-square-foot church building to Maine Township in 1983. Prior to 1983, Township meetings were held in a rented storefront at 2510 Dempster Street in Des Plaines, near Maine East High School. Before the Township could occupy the building, it required $400,000 worth of improvements, including moving the main entrance to what was the rear of the building, and installing elevators.

In the summer of 1995, construction began on an addition to the Town Hall to accommodate the need for more space in General Assistance, Disabled Services and other Township departments. This 7,000-square-foot addition, built for $1.1 million, was designed under the consultation of Dennis Stevens, an architect trained in the building's original Wrightian style. Work on the addition was completed in May 1996, and provided a double-car garage and additional office space to accommodate increased demand for Township services.