Prior to 1956, the area now known as Elk Grove Village was a massive cornfield. On July 17, 1956, Elk Grove Village was incorporated as a village, with a population of 116. Since that time, the growth of the village can only be described as phenomenal. Over 50 years, the village has dramatically changed since those early days of cornfields. The name Elk Grove Village was adopted from the great number of elk that roamed through the fenced-in portion of Busse Woods, along Arlington Heights Road, south of the Northwest Tollway. American Indians called the region Wapiti, meaning elk.