[2] Surrounded by larger, exurb towns of Crystal Lake, Woodstock, and McHenry, the village prides itself in its rural, low-density character.

[3] That Association’s recommendation in a report of July 25, 1961, was that a large part of the Bull Valley area be zoned for a residential/estate use of a minimum of 5-acre tracts.

[3] As the County began to consider land use policy, Bull Valley residents continued to oppose development that threatened the farms, forested hills, and wetlands.

[3] Through their association, they bore the costs of legal representation at numerous zoning hearings, until it became obvious that private efforts could not win the fight to save the rural character of the land.

[3] The referendum passed at an election held on July 23, 1977, giving residents for the first time, the authority to implement their long-standing purposes.

[3] Because state law required that a new municipality could have no fewer than 200 voters in an area of two square miles, the Village had to reach out for scattered households, hence its peculiar shape and boundaries.

[citation needed] Today the Village government occupies Stickney House, one of the oldest brick buildings in the area.

While the village has grown, and even includes some subdivisions now, it remains rural, with areas of woods, farms, and low-density housing between larger, exurb towns of Crystal Lake, Woodstock, and McHenry.