In 1900, the town of Phoenix Park was established primarily to retain its independence from the temperance minded community Harvey. The result of the election was 38 for and 18 against the establishment of the town. Village records do not indicate when the spelling change was made from Phonix to Phoenix or when the word Park was omitted but by 1905 all records refer to spelling as we know it today. A controversy soon erupted between the new town of Phoenix Park and the city of Harvey. State law required that for the town to be incorporated it must have a population of at least 300 people. The City of Harvey filed a lawsuit claiming that most of the residents that Phoenix Park counted were mostly hobos shipped in for the election. The courts never upheld this claim and Phoenix was allowed to incorporate into a Village on August 29, 1900.