Have you ever wondered where the name originated for the Bay Scott Center at the northeast corner of 75th Street and Book Road?
Alvin “Bay” Scott Jr. was born January 20, 1864, in Naperville, DuPage County, Illinois, the son of Alvin Scott Sr. and Marietta Emeline Gould. Alvin was a fourth-generation descendant of the Stephen Scott family that settled near the East and West Branch forks of the DuPage River in the fall of 1830.
He attended the Naperville Schools and Northwestern College (now North Central College) from 1875 to 1878. Alvin Jr. received the nickname “Bay” as a young boy, and was addressed that way by those who knew him well for the rest of his life.
Alvin worked as a bank cashier for his uncle, Willard Scott Jr., from 1881 until 1907 and then in his own Real Estate and Insurance business.
Alvin married Elizabeth Shaw Wilson on January 17, 1888. He and Elizabeth had one son, Robert Willard, who died in 1907 at the age of eighteen.
Alvin served Naperville as City Treasurer in 1890, as Naperville Postmaster from 1893 to 1897, and as Naperville Mayor from 1903 to 1907. During his term as mayor, the City installed waterworks and a sewerage system. The City also had the streets paved during his term of office.
In addition, Alvin served as Supervisor of Lisle Township in 1907, completing the term of his father’s office following his death.
He was a member of the First Congregational Church, in which he was a church schoolteacher, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and an active worker in every department.
Alvin was a member of Euclid Lodge No. 65, A.F. & A.M. and of Euclid Chapter No. 13, RAM and served as Master and Excellent High Priest of both Fraternal Organizations.
He died March 12, 1926, in Naperville, DuPage County, Illinois, and was buried in the Naperville Cemetery. Rev. Earl F. Collins of the First Congregational Church had charge of the service at the church and the Masonic Fraternity with Edward J. Lambe as Master performed the Masonic Funeral rites at the grave.
The Scott family line in Naperville died with Alvin’s death.
