Oak Lawn History Newspaper Clippings : Anniversary Editions and 1912 Yearbook

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Oak t a\'Jn Hi story
C1ippinqs
News~aoer
Anniversay Editions
1912 \Vearbook
The following articles on the history of Oak Lawn
were taken from the 1912 Oak Lawn Year Book, published
by the Oak Lawn Athletic Association, and five area news
papers. The 1912 "Blue Book," as it is called, contained
the first printed history of Oak Lawn, and the newspaper
articles were selected from those specially prepared
souvenir editions celebrating Oak Lawn1s history on the
fiftieth and sixtieth anniversaries of its incorporation
into a village.
Those articles relating the various stages of Oak
Lawn1s development-as a community, that is, the early
exploration of the area, its gradual settlement, the
decision to incorporate, and significant moments up to
our present day, have been organized in chronological
order. Following thses are various sections relating
the individual histories of Oak Lawn1s police, fire,
and public works departments, its schools, churches,
the growth of Oak Lawn Public Library, the community1s
Athletic Association, the building of Christ Community
Hospital, and lastly, a short history of the Calumet
Sag.
One point to be clarified is that this collection
is not a completely documented history of Oak Lawn.
Those sources the library does have ;'n its possession
have been utilized, but the reader may have to go to
other sources for those aspects of history not included
here. Nonetheless, our hope is that the information
collected here will be both a benefit and enjoyment to
you as you acquire a knowledge of your community.
Martha Kalk
Senior
Trinity Christian College
December 14, 1976
2
• r
lth I'ndians
o
, " ,- 2
. p.en¢ d U'p Land"
.~~,
O'/lk Lawn "Owes' its drove them out in 1763. : chase'of 1803 defined its limits,' ~ffices did a land offiCe
. popi.tl~tion to many, many' 'geor:ge Rogers ~Clark it became the Territory of business and . most of Oak
nations. Earliest were -the claimed . the-··· area 'for the lllinois. In 1812, when Fort Lawn was officially purchased
,Indians:. the, Saul\ and tbe revolutionaries in 1778, at the Dearborn was overwhelmed for the first time. Some sit~s
Miami, lllini and Kickapoo,' head of his band of· "Long the land Was lawless for a were "proved-'up" by veterans
Fox'and Pottowatomi. ' " Knives" and in 1787 it was time, but by 1818 Am,ericans of the Indian wars whose
Next ca'me the French includ~d' -in the. Northwest had flowed back in large service- had earned them
missionaries and traders in territory. . enough nuIllbers to earn government'land grants.
the 1700'S, until the BritisllAfter the Louisi;ma. Pur~ statehood. , Then came the new waves
\, '\ ,When the Erie canal opened from Europe: Irish
in}825, thousands poured into stonecutters in the lB:~O's to
the midwest. So many settlers work on the ship canal;'
Father l\[arquette and joliet
ilndians In are thought to have reached a 'came here that the remaining Germans in the 1B40's after
Indians took to the warpath to their revolution failed back"
ooinl between the B & 0 rail
:,defend their hunting grounds home' Scandinavians in the
Oak Lawn? "oad :lilt! the old II1inois and
:Ilichigan canal, in Summit, a and the militia had to take '1850's' and the Dutch. The
'pot now marked by a monu- arms to push them back. One Dutch came in quantity.
Well, Maybe3 11ent. French trading posts of the militia officers, in- To the Hollanders, ac
,I'ere established in the Stick cidentally, was Abraham customed to low·lying well
ney area in 1323. And it was Lincoln, who came, up from watered land, the south and
Indians in Oak Lawn? Well, ":\Iud Luke" with its portage Springfield to help defeat southwest suburbs were a
maybe, is the cautious answer problem which led to lhe llIi·
Blackhawk." natural home, Their truck
given by several reference 1l(li~, ;illd ~lichigall can}ll in The treaties, ;,with the farms wrought gold from mud
bool,s in the field, 1~,:i4 ;,11(\ Inlel' to the Ship ca-
defeated Indians opened and made these 'suburbs
ll's generally conceded that nal \\ hiclJ replaced it.
thousands of acre's to settlers blossom.
the :1rea around what is now In 1S75, the last Indians in
0,11\ Lawn 11;)5 used as a hunt- the area were driven \l,'e~t of ,who paid the government By 1B60, a muster of soldiers
ing ground by Potawatomie the Mississippi, and ear I y : from $1 to $2 per acre for Oak for the Civil war brought some
: Indians, who were known (0 maps show indications of farm Lawn land. ~ 200 men from the few towns'
: have camped in the Palos settlements of this era. The ' In 1833 the government gave and many farms in Worth
'hills. George Quimby of the Ogden clam, b u i I t in 1877, ' ,lllinois 284,000 acres of l~nd in township. Perhaps 35 of these
Chicago History Museum says drained Mud Lake and with it
,the are,a to fin/mce the Illinois- came from Oak Lawn.
early tribes required hundreds some of the surrounding land. ,
Michigan' ship canal, linking
of square miles of area to sus- "Long John" Wentworth of
:t he· Mississippi to the lake via
tain themselves and undoubt- Chicago- bought some of this
[the Illinois ·river. That same
edly roamed widely f~om theil' land, some 4,700 acres in stick-
I 'year, Chicago's 13 voting
settlements on the. ndges. ney township, on which he
CANOE TRAVELERS in the' once planned to develop a [citizens cast 12 ballots for and
early years used the for meL' . great city. one against incorporation and
glacial 0 uti e t up the Des' THE ENTIRE AREA shared! became a village. -
Plaines river to a point near in the waves of immigrants i For the next decade, land
the present town of Stickney;, brought to this country by'
where a ·mile-and-a-half port-i the need for labor on canals,
age put them in Mud lake and' railroads and building.
thence to the Chicago river. The Erie Canal opened in
During rainy sea son s, the 1825 bringing a great shift in
portage was even shorter. pOP~llalion from East to Mid-
l\Jany early residents of Oak west. 'rhe Scandinavians CaI11e
Lawn are presumed to have in the 1350's; the Germans
brought their belongings by ned their country after the
wagon along the old Vincennes, i defeat of a revolution in 1843;
I
trail along Vincennes ave. or Swiss French and Portuguese
by Stony Island, an outcrop- already had establishments
ping of limestone well above strung across Northern mi
the genet'ally swampy charac- nois. And the Dutch spotted
ter of surrounding land, Some . fertile land in Evergreen Park
must h a vee 0 m e by the and Oak Lawn and stayed to
"ridge" leading to Blue Island. start the truck farms which
, And others may have followed stm hold some of our land. In
"Archey" road near the ca- 1910, half the population of
nal. . '. . '.. .. Chicago was foreign born.
IN SEPTEMBER" of, 1673, THE FIRST railway the
Father ~Iarquette and, Joliet ,Michigan, Southern and No~th­
ern Indiana, reached Clllca
go in 1852, The Wabash took
over the Springfield and ]\ler
edosia line in the same dec
ade. And wilh the railroad,
Oak Lawn begillC to grow:",.
I
The railroad made its lirst
'stop here in 1382.
3
rs Thi f II
J _
.)
the bandit rendezous.
The first -settlers --aside
A jibe at car th~fts _::ith a reflecclon on the~ -yarns ; of
from the horse thieves came
horse thief 'holt\O'W ca~~ this Ind~pendent repor~, o~ into the region_ in 'the later
1830's. By 1836 Jefferson
March 30, 1934" to write .the following stOf.'Y.
Gardner had _e stablished a
taver,n not far from'what 'No ,Horse
By Dan Tori' -_ -.--------- is now 103rd and Western
'YlUle pol ice c6ntinue northern TIlinois. avenue. And where you find T-hiev.es
.-therr efforts to c.urb the . The region was quite' a a tave,rnYGu'll a·lso dljg:eover 6'--
theff:s of automobiles ex-: distance of.f the b eat en 'a settlement-or vise versa.
humm~ long lo~t. motro.rs· trails but near enough to . 'Was Qak Lawn ~nce mimed
frolll: cemete;;ys, the _ e- travel and settlements to
"HOl~se Thief HolloW"'? --'
flection., of Hors: Thief make raids possible. High
Many armchair' historians
Hollow comes to light. way robbery, more mod-
will tell you that it-was. IVs
About 90 years ago,' when ernly -termed "hi-jacking" -'
possible that the wooded area
the Chicago region was en- has flourished for hundreds '
joying its first boom, and of years, rising through the : Horse Thief , I afforded an excellerlt hiding
place for rustlers and theJjke
settlers 1eaving the more decades to the present era.
but research won't sub
crowded areas in the east "Horse Thief Hollow" was
Hollow? See
for the wide open prairies 2 com m 0 n mune in the stantiate the claim.
of ChiC'ago, the country west southwestern sec t (0 n for , 5 That dubious honor goes to
of the ridge running from many years ,and was used Morgan ,the-! Morgan Park section of
Park!~
Beverly hills to Blue Island indiscriminately to any and Chic,ago. A. T. Andreas in his
-was a favorite hidingp1ace all hollows. The hollows . ~" . "History of Cook County"
for· gangs of horse thiefs and undergrowtll made -.con -, Oak Lawn in future years publi~hed!ri HUH, pointed out
who infested portiOI15 of cealment .easy and pursuit
should have little, trouble liv that Morgan Park was
difficult. .
ing. down the reputation of situated in the center of the
Oak Lawn was knovvn as I
being "Horse. Thief Hollow," Blue Island ridg~. To the south,
"Oak Park," Washington
for there are few, if any, old or this area was a deep-ravine
Heights was called "Up
records to substantiate this covered with long: grass and
wood::: These, along with
allegation.
what is now Evergreen, thick underbrush. - -,
Park and M 0 r, g a n Par k None of the old-time residents Andreas called' it a "very
were the -most popular' -of interviewed by the Southwest lormidable fortress for horse
Suburbanite could recall any
Ulieves.:'
110:-se theives being in O"k
"Such were the gues ts tha t
Lawn, or any real stories
about horse thieves. The horse frequented the suburb as la te
thief stories, they said, began as 1H O:I, .. Andreas concluded.
circulating ,after the annual
Round-Up celebration started
10 years ago. '
IT'S POSSIBLE, of course,
there were rustlers who hid
stolen horses and cattle and
hid them among the thick
black oak trees in the real
old days.
But Oak Lawners are fond
of the story that puts the ~"eal
Horse Thief Hollow in Mor
gan Park. It is recorded in
Andreas' "History of Cook
County, Illinois" of 1884, in
which he pointed out that 1'1'101'
gan Park was situated in the
center of Blu~ Island Ridge,
to the south of which was a
deep ravine, covered with long
grass and thick underbrush,
"a very formidable fortress
for horse thieves." Farmers
in the area found bags of oats'
and other commodities in the
ravine which was tram pd
into a'mire by horse's hoofs.
"SUCH WERE the guests
that frequented the surburb as
:late as 1863," Andreas can·
,'eluded.
Ji--
(J ~
j~
I"
tony Creek Firs·t .T... ' ransportali.tloI7 n
'~
'
The recorded history of Oak the marshes. men noW grandfathers recall , Just north of Richards High! Island was receiving supplies Chicago until 1852. and U
Lawn dates back to 1673, when One of the best of these was ice skating as children. In this school on the east side of'S.! bv schooners coming up the first train stopped in OE
Louis Joliet and Father, or Stony creek, which had its 60th year of Oak Lawn's Centralave., the creek branchi C~lumet river, and some of Lawn in 1882. Until then,
"Pere" Marquette traveled beginnings then and has them history the lake does not exist, is onfy an annoyance 'to these found their way to Oak was waterways or far
this way by canoe while now just northwest of 95th and but it will return. The lake has students forced to take-extra Lawn via Stony creek. wagons which _ carried tl
tracing the Mississippi river Crawford. 'This-creek has beEn drained, to permit steps to get around it to school. The railroads didn't reach freight.
inr the Canadian Frontenac. several branches, but the dredging and sealing along its But west of Central it will soon
They found few good trails main route travels westward banks. to help the lake func- regain its pride for a builder;
through the area, and stuck to north of 95th st. to 54th ave., lion::1s a storm water basin as using a small dam, is letting
the waterways as much as passing just behind the village well as a recreational center. the creek create a lake as the
they could. The Palos hills hall complex along the way. South of the lake. the creek focal point for a multi-million
rose out of the swamp·to look When It turns southward at I1nws quietly on, controlled dollar apartment complex.
across the marsh grass to 54th ave., it flows qujeUy no\'/ for the sake of land It will be a brief moment in
Blue Island and Evergreen beneath busy 95th st. and then, development and diverted into the sun for the creek, though.
Park. There were high points thanks to a small dam, widens what is unbeautifully called From the lovely lake it flows
at ,Summit and at 95th and into the lovelY Oak Lawn lake, the "Wabash cut-off", so it freely only a fe~ hundred feet.
Western. In between, a net heart of th~ village, where will travel more swiftly and then 'it's back intQ...tubes and
work of small streams drained
straightly on its way toward out into-a garbage pit., The
the Cal-Sag channel. huge dUmp is filled now, arid
Joining it at th~ cut-off is one day the little creek may be
another branch of the creek, an ornament even there. on its
this one flowing .we~t,:,,~rd' way to' Join its northern
from the watershed IS diVISIon, brother at the WaBash cut-off
near W. 1lUh st. and S. Cicero and' become' StonY 'creek
ave. From that division, one ~Iiain: ,'.:. ,I. . .
bl'anch of the creek fl()ws Waterways7~.e\e important
southeast: the other flows,,! wpal'lv settlers in the Oak
northwest. , _ Lawn a~ea. Roads were so bad
The northwest branc~ has that. much produce was
fallen ..o n har~ tt~e:~ ;;hipped by water.-often on
IgnomlnlOu,sly. It shn barges pUlled with ropes by
through con.crete tubes neB;r mules walking on _the banks.
the busy Ci<:ero ave ...s o .It Well into the 1800's, Blue.
won't hamper constructIOn m ' I
that busv commercial- area.
Released from its tube, it finds
its way through the industrial
park through asemi:-c()nstant
collection of junk~-'
..j:::>
I
Oak A Black<
"T' I '
To A _fWighty Oak
Oa/~ ',ree10
I
.. In the ten year ~eriod before, neighbots' w~reiniles ~way, cit izens-convened in Larson's
Oak La~n was mcorpora.ted and he had to to {ravel10 miles hall at 95th and 53rd ave.
l
as a village 8,795,386 Im- 10 Blue Island to get supplieS. II was the year the
I
migrants, 69.9 per cent ofl In a few short years Simp- helicopter was invented by
them males, came to the son gol his first neighbors. Berguet, Randall Thomas
United States. ' i Among them were F,red and Davidson was' Archbishop of
From this group came some John Joern, Charles Priest, Canterbury and Pius X was
of the village's early settlers,: John Sproat, Henry Crouch, Pope. William Howard Taft
and they with the handful of WilbuF Harnew, Franklin had been elected the year
personswhocameinthe 1800's Chamberlain, Edward ~efore on t.he Republican
laid a foundation for the 65,000 Mulligan and Wilbur Wilcox. \Jeket with a t?tal of ?677.006
population of today's Oak "By 1860 life in, the set- yotes with James S. Shennan
Lawn." tlement began to take on, a as his viCe president.
In 1842 the area was known formal aspect," according to ,Th~. airplane had been in
as Black' Oak because of the historical records. The, first vented just sixy~ars before.
number of Oak trees in the school house was built and had the Boer) 'lar had disappeared
number of Oak trees iO\ the an enrollm-:f!t ~f six p~p1is from the headlines and Jac\,
were filled with various u~der the dl~ect1011 of Wilbur Johnson. at age. 31 was ~he
game: .wolves, deer and WIl~ox. the first t~ache~. ,heavyweIght~o~mg champIOn
prairie chickens Wilcox later enhsted m \!Ie of the world, Pittsburgh won
That year._the' 'north half of nort~ernarrily and "was four a~ainst' Detroit'~ three
section !) township 37 bo _ nev~r 'heard of ~fterv.:ar~s, ga,!!l_esm ~the,.Worl.d series and
r havmg.probably gIven hi!!; hfe Wmtcrgreercwon the Ken-
.. .L, • '
derlllg along what IS now: 95th for thecause/~'says'iin early tuckY' derby;.· .. :. '
st., near Central ave. was Oak.Lawn document.
I .'. • ...., •
purchased f~o~ the. State-A< "postal. station .was " 9~kL~~n :vas makmg news
B.ank of IllInOIs by ,John eSlabnshed'in Evergree'n {oo: An elec~on for ,temporary
Slmpson.. .. Park in the late '70s, and the off~cers for, the Village \\'.<If<
\ He paid fo~ It WIth bank Wabash Railroad laidits right helO ,on March 9, 1909 ,w.lIh
stock then sel1m~ at 621/2 cents of way, with a station. thus James Montg?mery rec:lVlI1g
per . sha~e which ,he had giving the settlers the much 50 votes for Village president.
\ 'II' {
i received m trade for his gold needed facilities of railroad F'" k t h
watch some months before. It transportation An Oak Lawn 1 or ~I. ~~ll~l aemr ;Aon~ 0 e
lis believed he paid about $200 nost office was' begun and the e ec, e d' 45,1 t dUW"'!ll~rm
• ' • . • . I' ,receIve vo es an I lam
lor, hiS half-section as he used name of the area was changed Gadd'is rec' " ed 4 d'
'h f' \ 'k . eIV. accor 109
one s are 0 st?C to pay for from Black Oak to Oak Lawn, \0 early records; -
each acre of land. . When the Columbian ex- .' .
Simpson built a home and position was being held in For ~ trustees, six to be
estabhshedafarm here in 1858 1893 an artifical lake (now elected, the vote was Frank
on the land from 95tb to '99th Oak'Lawn lake-96th and East' Harrew, 48 votes; Johnson
sl., and from 52nd ave', to S~ore dr., was, dug' to help Wilson, 47; William F.
Central ave; . increase the value of the Krueger, 50; Carl Benck. 50:
Simpsori,' ·his wife. and property,' . Alfred Singleton, 43; A. Arm-
children were at first alone on This same lake was' the strong, 50 and H.C. Mal'\' 5.
the prairie,' their near.est birthplace of the Oak Lawn tester M. McKee was 'elected
'Park district, being .the first as police magistrate for four
site owned, and improved and :y:earsand Charles Schultz was
is now being imp'roved as a elected as the first village
retention basin by tHe Chicago c.erkto .serve two years. On
Metropolitan Sanitary TtlUl'sday, May 13, 1909 the
district, in' cooperation' with incorporation was granted to
the village . and the' Park Oak Lawn, The population
district !, \ • figure; about 300 souls.
, On Feb, 4,1909-when the " ,
village petitioned James A. 'The faSCinating game of
Rose, secretary of the state of politics had begun in Oak
Illinois for incorporation, the Lawn. '
u
Oak'La'wn Once
r()
a l l d
30.11\\1\ S,
Black Oaks was only one· ing material' and farm· ma-. : of the 'main ;treet (95th st.), was another oak which pro-'
and a quarter miles'in a:rea;·. chinery.. . '. ' .. ~ which . had' la' ,spread of jected out into a well-tra- ,
until the railroad came and People began to move i1';:': '. branches lik!,! a large um- veled pathway. It had a'
more people began to move to Oak Lawn, and the set-.. brell~ •. In the St1ll).mer. large white mark painted
in. . , tlement made, some pro-' fal'mers would stop under upon it, so people going
The name of· the sett1e-' gress. There was a subdi . the oak with their teams of visiting at night wouldn't
ment was 'changed to "Ag- visiqn of it about 1890. In h.o~,ses and goSsip. There walk iri'to it!
nes," after the railroad sta- order to increase the value
tion agent's wife,.-but in a of propei'ty in a marshy sec:"
brief sp •. ce 0.£ time,' the tion, an artifical lake . was '*+++++H+++I'++++I-H-+++H+I-H+++++I'++++++"
+ +
name was changed again to dug, between the years 1891 + t
OaIkn Lthaew nla. t~e 1870's, a pos~-" anTdh 'e9 5.O ak Lawn lake of :±i: ' The ~~,Lgl,: OB"y v1F..t.u.,~. ~ !: .l1€it' .glll((;Hu w~ :~+ ,
luI station was erected in today was once a .beautiful :t: :t
Eve r g ret n ·Park. . This l'avine, with a clean sandy :i:
brought the settlers' mail bed. Many springs kept' the A station agent's wife, blond, b~autiful and pop- :~.
seven miles closer.' .water fresh and pure. It had :j: tilar; gave Oak Lawn the name of Agnes for a :j:
TheW ~ bas h· raill'oac1, sloping banks that seemed . :j: .w hile. Something like the girls who made history :t.
started work on a track in like law:ns, and there were i
this locality in' 1879: John few weeds or 'willowson in the gold rush, Agnes had a way with melt that ~:
+
Simpson donated thexighf- them. This ravine was dug resulted in the naming of a town for her. But +
t t
of-way tm'~ugh this 'Pl'QP~ deeper 'toformthe artific-al . +
erty. Frederlch Schultz who . lake. Some old citizens said :j: .the wives of some of the leading settlers had
was boi'n in Germ~ny ·and this' '.vas done because the + other ideas, so the story goes. Today the name of +
came to Black Oalts' ~n 1876;, section was going to be the + +
assisted the Wabash in grad-' e,rst Chicago world's fair. + the village is Oak Lawn. Agnes? History doesn't :1.
ing its road,..bed between For a. time everi the arti ls~y what happened to her. . :1:
Ashburn and Chh:agoRicige,ficial'lake was :'a beauty' + . +
+., . t
with 'a team of hor:>es. :,' spot. Trees and shrub:;; were'
During 1880' and :'81, ~ pI-anted al'ound it.. There ~++++r+++++O\-H+I-+++++++++-H-++++++-H·'i-r+·r-:: :
track was laid· through the was, and still i::;, an island
settlement, 'and a' small· in it and, a peninsula on
wooden stat~on was built on the north'end, Young people
52nd st. This gave the set- used it £01' swimming in'the
tIel'S much-needed trans- summer and skating in the
pOl'tation, and caused a post- winte!'.. But' today it is
a
office to be erected. Also all'somewhat 9£ cesspool.
the farmers got jobs with Pl;ogress' continued Ten
the railroad. " .m oneyed citizens each gave
Henry .Crouch was the '$100 !for a new railroad sta
first Wabash agent, and tion, and' the one now
James Chamberlain was the standing was constructed.,
fir s t official postmaster. Teachers were secured from
(Charles Simpson was the the Normal school at 6800
ofirst pioneer postmaster. He Stewart av., in C4icago, the
had a farm, a general store only school of higher ed
and a post~office in the ucation near Oak Lawn at
store. The store was located the time. Ellen Sproat, one
where Jim's Tap Room now of the teachers, was known'
stands. And George Robb for having the only musical
was the first blacksmith; instrument-it· was an 01'-
b:ing located near 91st and gan.· .
Clcero.) . . .' .... . .
DespIte th~ .. gleat blacJt
• The', .· f;i rst Pl•l.•S••• s<e ng•er• •tr•am•• oaks' being cut for timbe.r
stopped in ~ O~k Lawn dur- and the wild game's fading
ing ~e winter of 1882. away slowly, Oak Lawn s~ill
Around 1880 William retained some of its natural
Brandt established the first beauty and local color dur
coal yard, which included ing the railroad days of the
a wagon shop and black- late 1800's. There was an
smith. He also sold build~.: immense oak' in the .middle
i ,,~
'y.-
First Sch 01 House Establish d In 1860,
-
Wabash Railroad Laid k 18 11
rac·· s ~il
I
I
Baci{ in 1842, John Simpson purchased the north half of gomery, and the trustees were'· Frank E. Harnew, Carl were cut UlIwn to make way for utility poles and electric
section 9 in Townshi p 37 from the state Bmk of Illinois Banck, Joseph Covington, A. W. Armstrong, William wires.
for $200. His tract of land, which extended ahng the south Krueger and A. H. Singleton. Lester McKee was elected In the late twenties the first zoning committee was
side of 95th street in the vicinity of Central Avenue, .was police magistrate and Charles Schultz served as village appointed, the first deep water well Was tested and
heavily wooded with blac~' oaktrees.A~ 621/2¢ per acre clerk. The boundaries of the village as speCified in the permission was giJlen to the Interhatiorutl Telephone
this \\all ,a bargajn.·. .' ,. .' charter were 87th street on the north, 99th Street on the Company to erect poles on the str~et8 of the Village.
Silveral year.s ~r his pUrchase, John Simps(;m beganto south, Cicero Avenue on the east and Central Avenue on During the thirties, the first planning committee vms
farm some of this land,and soon he had neighbors named the west. named, and the zoning board predicted that by 1960 the
Harnew, Croucl1:and Sproat. The little settlementknownas Meanwhile, the increase in 'student population had population of Oak Lawn would reach 10,000. Numerous
Biacl, Oaks began to grow, alld,the first schoolhouse was warranted the construction of a second school. The CWA and WPA projects improved the community during
.;sta':>lished in-186Q;' T~n years later a post office was first one had been located at 95th street and 55th Ave the depression years.
nue. It was replaced with another one-room building at
;l)cated in thtil nearby' town' of Evergreen Park. The By 1945 the water pipe connection to Chicago was
the northwest corner of 95th and Cicero Av enue. The
wabash Railroad laid its first tracks through the area completed. A one million gallon water l'eservoir was
Cook Avenue School, consisting of two rooms was erected
in 1880, and in 1881 a. postal station was established in built and old wells were abandoned.
the community, which became. officiallY known as Oak in 1905 at a cost of $8,000. The first teachers at Cook The village adopted the manager form ;,( government
Lawn. ..,.;... . were Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Covington. ~ 1912 the total by referendum in 1953, and C. D. Andre \'las hired as the
An artificial lake was dug dw.ing: the -Dineties, more cscohmopool sepdo pouf ltahtiroene mweasm b7e6r.s .T he first school board was first manager. A special census tallen that sam'~ year
families came into the area, and soon the need for local indicated the population was 13,332.
government was realized. At a meeting of the citizens The early village officials had many tasks to perform, The first xpunicipal parking lot was begun, the new
on February 4, 1909, a petition for the incorporation of in an effort to improve the community. Gas m.Rins were village hall was dedicated and Oal{ Lawn celebrated its
laid in 1909 and the following year sidewallts were con
the Village of ()ak Lawn was sent to the Secretary of golden jubilee in 1959.
structed. In 1911 electric lights were installed, many of
State. A temporary election -Was held on March 9, and According to the 1960 census, the population of Oal{
the first regular. election took place on April 20 of· that the streets weN graded I ld oiled, a jail was built and Lavm was 27,437. Hundreds of new homes and businesses
same year. . . street crossings were opened across the railroad tracks. have added to the progress of our village.
The .first president of Oak. Lawn was James Mont- The black oaks, which had given the town its name,
00
9
Scene
Oak Lawn
eap·er1 2
, Oak Lawn can claim to "One'· day grllndmother
be the home O'f the McCor- took me by the hand and
mick reaper, according to· a we walked ai'Qund the farm.
letter Bert J. Simpson of She stopped and said, 'Right
.S tuart, Okla. . (grandson of here is the· spot where Cy
John Simpson) w rot e to rus McCormick, ~aker of
Frank Wilson, 5364 W. 96th the reaper, came, with two
st.: • . . negl'oes, and brought a part
"You speak of the eady of the r-eaper he had and
wdaaynst edof 'to0 ~k nko wL aa.bwo unta nthde .haall d'tgorgaenthdefar.t hTerh ihse' lwpaPsl !tth iet. i
first settlers of the tOW11; first reaper built in the' Early horse d"awn reaper, tried in Oak Lawn, was
·Grand.f·atherJohn Simpson United States. Early .in tne
crude and complicated, as sketch -above indicates.
came from Dumfries, Scot- morning, they went.out into
0
.land;. and settled first-for a patch of fine oats· grand
a time-in Geneva. N. Y. He father had planted west of "One day, dl"iving along
was . dissatisfied there and the house (six acres) and 95th st., an outfit of men,
camei!v.est driving a Cones- made a test of the working. wagons and horses drove up
toga.:"wagon;· ~:r.r 1. v i ng at After several trials grand to our house and turned in
,Lockport,'Ilt'.·., .' father and Mr. McCormick . to our yard. A big man
';He :theri,·wenttd JI-edley, got the machine to work came in. He was the boss:
Ill., ih Will'County,' just on well.' There were 12 teams. Fath-'
the line from the 'corner of "Previous to this reaper er didn't know what to
Cook county. The buildIngs the only machine' they had make of the excitement. The
-house. barn alia aU-others was the sickle. The follow big man said, 'Hello, C1lar
on the farm-were made, of ing day Mr. McCormick re lie. I'm from Wilmington
logs by grandfather. Three turned and' tested this ma- -and am here to build the
of the nine childl'en they chine on grandfather's farin: Wabash railroad. I'm Sam
o white.' 'Well,' f'ather said:
reared were born on that "G,randfiltlier also helped
'you look big' enough· to
farm. The other six were develop the walking· plow in,.
build a railroad.'
b?rn in' Oak Lawn in th,e lllinois";:;'as thev 'had noth
bIg r~d .house you have seen. ing ofthe,::kind --and lpade They started the railroad
manJ tImes. l1ittle progress. in farming. I at WOI·th and went into
"When grandfather went! have seen in print, in Duroc Chicago on -the pre sen t
to Oak Lawn he ?ougbt the Jers\:1y Magazin'e, that gand right-of-way. They had a
nol'th half of sectlO~ 9-and 0 father and an old black g I' a d e r pulled by eight
gave Aunt Mary Pra~t the srriith .down .at Lockport, Ill., teams. which was manned
by Capt. Murphy. I drove
?orthe-ast 40 of sectlon 9 invented the first iron plow
Just across th~ road, w.est used in America. They ob- the teams in the middle.
fl'om where BIll Beebe hv-' tained a root "from a red with father on one side of
ed. T.he next 120 acres weSt.. walnut tree arid shaped it .the grader and another man
of thIS 40 he gave to 'Uncle into a mold board and fast':' on the other side. We start-·
Amos Simpson, fat her' s' ened it on the' plow, Which ed .£rGm 'the blind slough
and s top p e d grading at
brothel'. .' had' an iron I a nd;" sid e.
Clarkdale, where the Wab
"The remainder of the Grandma told me this, and
ash now crosses the Grand
haH section was given to! when John Deere of Moline.
Trunk railroad.
the other seven children-a Ill., heard this, he hi'tched
"I can tell you, I wore
parl on which you live.' up ·his tea m. and d r 0 v e . myself out sitting up there
"They sawed th.:! lumber . s t r a i g h t to grandfather's
holding these lines-got so.
they used in .the big house (Hadley, Ill.) and he and
I tired I couldn't sleep. We
-and the barn-O\'e!' by the grand·father, aided the old
had to take care' of all of
railroad. track. . ' blacksmith in perfecting the
those horses at -our barn
plow.
and mother cooked for all
"This old hlacksmith lies
the men. Those. were weary
buried in the cor n e I' of days for us all. The only
Lockport cemetery. He is
joy· and rest we .had was
the inventor of the fil'st iron
listening to four or five of
plow in Illinois.
the boys who played the
fiddle at night. I think I'm
the only man alive who was
right there and helped to
build the railroad."
Clarkdale 1s Asburn of
today. .
-There is a stone mat'ker
with an iriscrlption a few
miles southeast of Lockport .
about the plow invented
. there. .
1912. Blue Book:
-------- --~ ---- 13
Basis For Oai< l 5t
wn m ~ 1\1 ry
i~j ~
On Jan. 5, 1934, Ruth V. Winther, staff writer for the
Oak Lawn Independent,. reviewed the much talked
about "blue book." Her article is as follows:
By R. V. Winther
A wee blue bOok with schoolhouse was built in February 4,1909, citizens
bright gold letters was pub 1860, where the Old Home petitioned James A. Rose,
lished under the name of stead was - at 95th street secretary ofthe state of fili
the Oak Lawn Athletic As and 55th avenue. The first nois, for the incorporation
sociation, in the year 1912, year's enrollment was about of Oak Lawn. Officers
at a time when some of our six or eight. elected to conduct the first
During the late '70's· a, business of the village when
most . prominent citizens
postal station was estab-· "incorporated were : James [email protected]
were finding glory on the 14
lished at Evergreen Park, Montgomery, president, to
ball diamond.
. There are action pictures bringing the mail about' serve for two years; F. E. This portra it of George
seven miles closer. By 1882 Harnew, Carl Benck, Joseph
and short histories of Ed Harnew was done when he
the Wabash Railroad had a Covington, A. W. Arm
ward G. and Herbert E. station at the settlement and strong, William Krueger was l!l. He was the father of
Schussler, and three Hop
post office was established. and A. H. Singleton for trus Frank and Wilbur. The
kinses - Herbert, Walter
With these improvements tees. Harnew family moved to a
and Percy. William Benck,
the name of the place was Lester M. McKee, was farm at' W. 96th· st. and S.
Albert Schultz and Clarence.
changed from Black Oak to elected to serve as police Austin ave. before the village
Singleton are other bright
lights. . Oak Lawn. The first pas magistrate for four years was incorporated. .
senger train to stop at Oak and Charles Schultz was e-·
Birlh of the village is re
viewed and there are photo Lawn was during the win lected as the first village ! The setllemenlwas then
graphs of the churches. ter of 1882. clerk to serve two years. !known as Black Oak because
Congregational, Lutheran, Oak Lawn prospered rap The office of trustee was or the many trees in the area,
idly. The artificial lake was for a term of two years, but
and Methodist Episcopal. dug between" 1891 and 1895, to have an alternate, a di The first schoolhouse was
Behrends' store with the and the value of property vision of the first six trus established in HlIiU and mail
hitching pOsts in front and steadilY increased. A new tees was neeessary, three came a lilUe closer when a
Schultz' corner when the schoolhouse was started in men to serve two years and postal station was established
pbiuciltduirnegd .w asT hjeu stn ebwu iltt waore 1905, and the two rooms three for one year. '"III Evergreen Park.
room school and the village comprise part of our pre At the first meeting three The Wabash laid its railroad
hall are photographed, and sent building. tickets Learing two year tracks through the settlement'
some lake' and homestead In 1912 Miss Genevieve terms and three bearing one in 1880 and· when they were
scenes. Corey taught the first four year terms were placed in completed in 1881 a postal
grades and Peter B. Ritz a hat and each of the six station was sel up .in the
. JlaonhIndn 1bS8o4irm2d persoionungr fpairluosrtnc ghs eatwstelhdea rt rrnoall mtheen ut ppwears fosuerv. enTthye- seinx . ttBwreuons ctyekee asar nd dtri ecCwkoe ovtsinn ega.t noHdna Ardnrremeww , rliamilero atdim s lt altihoen . nIat mweas' oaft tthhies
is now 95th street at the The school board consisted strong, Krueger andSingle settlement was changed to
rate of sixty-two and one oLfe ot hHe offofmlloawn,i npgr emsidemenbte; rAs;. toll drew one year t~rms. Oak Lawn,· - - j
. half cents an acre. The lo- The Oak Lawn Lake was
H. Singleton, clerk; and John "May 13, i909, the incor
cality at that time, having no , Joern, director. poration was granted Oak dug in HI91 to, enhance
definite boundary, was Lavm with the following property values which
known as the Black Oak boundaries - East, Cicero brought more seltlers into the
settlement, due to the great
ave; West 56th ave; North, area, which in rurn" brought
black oak trees growing
87th street; South, 99th st., (he need for local governmeut.
here - which have since be
The village has· expanded The citizens gathered on the.
come extinct.
some since!
Various kinds of game evening of J:t'eb. 4, 1909 in
There surely are quite a
such as deer, ducks, prairie Larson's Hall on 95th sf.. where
number of little 1912 year
chickens, wolves and rab lhe Oak Lawn Shoe store now
books hiding away in the
bits abounded. In 1858 the homes of our older resid slands and petili(}l1ed th~
nearest food supply station" ents. They are precious for secretary of state. Hames A.
and postal service was at their information and as l{u:;e, for incorporation as a
l. Blue Island - a distance of sociations of the past. vilfage.
~/ 10 miles. . . James Montgomery was
Among the early settlers
elected, firsl' president and
i that followed were Wilbur
Frank Harnew .. Carl Benck,
L Harnew, John Simpson and
JQ,Seph .,Covington. A. W.
John Sproat and Franldin
Chamberlain. The first i\l'Ihs~rong. William Krueger
irt"ltl A. H.Singleton~; trUst~es~
.~--~'
...