Steward of Illinois Historical Scholarship and Public Memory
Since the publication of my inaugural article in 2016, my scholarship has coalesced into the Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™. Originally conceived as a pedagogical resource for students and educators, this repository has matured into a dynamic digital archive, facilitating broad public engagement with historical inquiry. The central objective of this initiative remains constant: to render historical data accessible, intellectually stimulating, and germane to diverse demographics.As a historian, Lincoln scholar, publisher, and archivist, my career spanning four decades has been dedicated to the curation, analysis, and dissemination of Illinois’ historical record. My professional focus centers on the aggregation of primary sources—narratives, iconography, and material culture—that collectively illuminate the sociopolitical and cultural evolution of the state.
The Journal serves a function beyond that of a traditional repository of articles and antiquarian texts. It operates as a locus for public memory, an open-access educational environment, and an intergenerational conduit. It is designed to support a wide spectrum of inquiry, from students preparing for the Illinois History Day competition to advanced researchers and independent scholarsMethodologically, I posit that state history is not merely a static narrative to be consumed, but a dynamic construct requiring active engagement. Consequently, the Journal employs a participatory framework, inviting contributors to augment the archival record with personal photography and oral histories. This crowdsourced approach to historiography does not compromise rigor; rather, it enhances the depth of the historical record by integrating a multiplicity of perspectives into the collective narrative.
This body of work is presented as an open invitation to scholarly and public discourse. The archive remains accessible to all, underscoring the conviction that historical heritage is a communal asset.
"As a premier online resource, this repository is widely cited for its contribution to scholarly research regarding Illinois, the urban development of Chicago, and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition."
- Ancient & Prehistoric Illinois
- Illinois Frontier & Indigenous People (Indian Tribes)
- More Enthralling Illinois History
- Chicago, Suburbs, and Collar Counties Stories
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This section follows the land that makes up modern Illinois, beginning with the Mesozoic era (250 to 65 million years ago, the Age of Dinosaurs), and the history of very early Illinois.
Ancient Illinois History: Beginning on the Supercontinent of Pangaea.
Ancient Illinois Indian Mounds - A Technical Examination.
Ancient Lake Chicago became Lake Michigan as glaciers retreated over 14,000 years ago.
Archaeologists in East St. Louis, Illinois, dig to find an ancient civilization that vanished.
Cahokia Mounds and the Indian Village of Cahokia.
Cahokia, What Caused the Fire that Destroyed this Ancient City?
Discovery of the Indian Effigy Mound in Lake View, Chicago, Perhaps before 1000 AD
How Glacial Melt & Earthquakes Realigned Ancient Rivers and Changed Illinois Borders.
"The Illinois" Confederacy, History in the Illinois Country.
"The Illinois" Confederacy, Indians bid for power in the late 1600s based on slavery.
"The Illinois" Confederacy, Massacred at Grand Village by the Iroquois and its Aftermath.
Indian Trails - The Vincennes Trace.
Indian Village, Founded in 1993 Buried Under the Sanctuary Golf Course in New Lenox, IL.
Lincoln College and the City of Lincoln, Illinois.
Mammoth and Mastodon Ivory Sales Scam in Illinois.
Paleo-Indian Migration to North America & Ready/Lincoln Hills Site, Jersey County, Illinois
Paleo-Indians of the Albany Mounds, the Hopewell Tribe, in Albany, Illinois.
Piney Creek Ravine, near Chester, Illinois, has an extensive collection of prehistoric rock art.
▓ Prehistoric Shark Nursery Fossils Found in Illinois.

"The American Revolution and George Rogers Clark's Illinois Campaign also played a significant role in the history of Illinois. It's clear that this era of Illinois history is rich with complexity, and I can understand why it's a passion of yours. Thank you, Dr. Gale, for sharing your journal entries with me." — Prof. Dr. B., Stanford University, California.
1813 “Peoria War” was a significant factor in the elimination of Indians in Illinois.
1814 Wood River, Illinois, Massacre.
1816 Treaty of St. Louis and the 1821 and 1833 Treaties of Chicago.
Anna Pierce Hobbs Bixby (1812–1873) was a frontier doctor and scientist in southern Illinois.
▓ Billy Caldwell: The Life & Times of Billy Caldwell, whose history was mostly fabricated.
Bloody Autumn at Nauvoo (Mormon Town), Illinois, in 1845.
Buncombe, Illinois' Amazing Story.
Bushnell: A highly detailed look at a small settlement founded in west-central Illinois in 1854.
Cave-In-Rock checkered past. The cave is on the Ohio River in Hardin County, Illinois.
▓ Cemetery History of Early Chicago.
Charles Jouett, the First U.S. Indian Agent Residing at Chicago.
Chicago: The Origin and Meaning of the Name (Chicagoua).
Chicago as a Hunting Post.
Chicago River Calamity Destroyed all the Bridges over the Chicago River in 1849.
Chicago Area Indian Villages were a mixture of tribes.
▓ Chicago's First Resident, Antoine Ouilmette, July 1790-1826.
Christiana and John Tillson, Illinois Pioneers.
Daniel Pope Cook was an Illinois congressman and landowner.
Early Illinois, pub:1881
Fence Laws of Frontier Illinois.
First Frenchman in Southern Illinois turns out to be a Poacher.
▓ Fort Dearborn Massacre of 1812: A brutal historical account & in-depth analysis.
"Free Frank" McWorter paid for his freedom from slavery and bought his family's freedom.
Free Negroes in Illinois Prior to the Civil War, 1818-1860
French Chicago during the Eighteenth Century.
French Life in the Illinois Country, from Canada to Louisiana, in the 1700s.
Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup Farm History in Funks Grove, Illinois.
Gurdon Hubbard arrived in Chicago before the Town of Chicago was incorporated in 1833.
Henri de Tonti and His Connection with What Would Become Illinois. (1650-1704)
Hinsdale (Brush Hill, Fullersburg), Illinois, History; Village on the County Line. pub:1949
History of the Illinois Country from 1673-1782.
History of the Meskwaki (Fox) Indian Tribe; Searching for Fort du Renards (Fort Fox).
How did the City of Newton and Jasper County, Illinois, get their names?
"The Illinois" Confederacy, History in the Illinois Country.
"The Illinois" Confederacy, Indians bid for power in the late 1600s based on slavery.
"The Illinois" Confederacy, Massacred at Grand Village by the Iroquois and its Aftermath.
Illinois County Boundaries Maps from 1790-1859.
Illinois 'River Pirates' in the Northwest Territory in the 1790s.
Illinois Territory 15 Counties between 1909 and Statehood in 1818, with a map.
▓ Indian Trails - Green Bay Trail, aka "Old Jambeau Trail," Chicago to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Indian Trails - The Vincennes Trace.
Institute of Slavery in Illinois.
James Ford was the Leader of Ford's Ferry Gang - River Pirates.
January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Jesse W. Fell, successful businessman, education advocate, and close friend of A. Lincoln.
John Jones, a free Negro, used his house & office as a Chicago Underground Railroad Stop.
John Kinzie - Chicago House Chronology.
John Kinzie - Important Chicago Firsts by the Kinzie Family.
John Kinzie - Kills Jean Baptiste La Lime, Chicago's first murder victim, in 1812.
John Kinzie - One of Chicago's Founding Fathers.
John Messinger (1771-1846), the Messinger Schoolhouse and Cemetery in Swansea, IL.
Kaskaskia Indian Reservation in Illinois.
Keepataw, Illinois, was a paper town in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties.
▓ Kinderhook Plates - Discovered in 1843 in an Indian mound near Kinderhook, Illinois.
Ku Klux Klan in Southern Illinois in 1875.
Life in Post-Colonial Illinois for French Women and Families.
"Life of Black Hawk," as dictated by himself.
One Man's Story of "Indian-Hating" in the Illinois Country Frontier.
Peoria War of 1813 played a big part in eliminating Indians in Illinois.
Philippe de Rocheblave, a Military Opportunist in the Illinois Country.
Pierre Menard House at 4230 Kaskaskia Road in Ellis Grove, Illinois.
Plains Indians in Illinois before the French Colonization of Mississippi Valley in the mid-1700s.
Potawatomi - Tribal History including the Potawatomi of the Prairie.
Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, History. Zachary Taylor's Rough & Ready in Illinois.
Saunemin, a Village in Illinois, is named after a Kickapoo Chief.
▓ Susan Simmons Winans. Last Known Survivor of the Chicago Fort Dearborn Massacre.
The Difference Between an Illinois Town and a Township.
Treaties - Chicago (1821, 1833); and the Treaty of St. Louis 1816.
Turkey Hill in St. Clair County was a settlement of free Negroes decades before the Civil War.
Village on the County Line; A History of Hinsdale, Illinois. pub:1949
▓ William Wells, Indians kidnapped him at 13, fought with U.S. at Fort Dearborn as a warrior.

"One thing I appreciate about this Journal is the author, who's a master of consistency. High-quality Illinois history is regularly published. It's evident that he takes his craft very seriously." — T. Williams
1968 Illinois earthquake, a "New Madrid Fault event," was the largest recorded in the state.
1925 Tri-State Tornado History.
Ambler Texaco Gasoline Station on Route 66 in Dwight, Illinois.
America’s First Black Town, Brooklyn, Illinois founded 1820s (aka Lovejoy, Illinois).
American Bottom. The story of the Illinois portion.
Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, in Wilmette, Illinois.
Artist Ivan Albright's History and Family Log House in Hubbard Woods, Winnetka, Illinois.
Bachelor's Grove Cemetery in Midlothian, Illinois, Haunted History.
Barack Obama Day, August 4, 2018, was the first day of this President's holiday in Illinois.
Barack Obama, the Story of the 44th President of the United States of America.
Base Ball in the 1800s was Considerably Different than Today’s Game.
Battle of Barrington [Illinois], November 27, 1934 - John Dillinger.
Belleville, Illinois' Brewery History.
Benjamin Henry Grierson (1826-1911), Civil War Union General.
Betty Friedan, a Peoria, Illinois native, helped spark a new wave of feminism.
Bounce Land Trampoline Parks in Northern Illinois. (late 1950s - early 1960s)
Bowe Brothers of Co. "D" 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry; "Birge's Western Sharpshooters."
Brooks Tomato Products Company and The World's Largest Catsup Bottle, Collinsville, IL.
Bunker Hill, a city in Southern Illinois, was leveled by the 1948 Tornado.
Cahokia Courthouse is a reconstructed New France (post on sill) structure built about 1740.
Camp Pine, a WWII German POW Camp in the forest preserves near Des Plaines, Illinois.
Cara-Sel Lounge, Springfield, Illinois, was a unique restaurant and nightclub. (1951-1968)
Cave-In-Rock's checkered past. The cave is on the Ohio River in Hardin County, Illinois.
Cayuga, Illinois, History begins well before Route 66 came through town.
▓ Centralia, Illinois, Mine № 5 (Wamac, IL) Disaster of March 25, 1947. [best read entirely]
Chain of Rocks Bridge, Chouteau Island, Illinois.
Charles Birger, a Southern Illinois mobster. The full story.
Charles Dadant, Bee-Culturist and the American Bee Journal in Hamilton, Illinois. (est.1861)
Charles Dawes from Evanston; WWI General, 30th US VP, Ambassador to Great Britain.
Checkerboard [Air] Field & US Air Mail Field in Broadview, Illinois.
Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad history - from the beginning.
Chicago Cholera Cemetery, also known as the Lake and Wabash Burial Site. (1832)
Cholera Epidemic in Illinois, nicknamed the "Plague on the Prairie," in 1833.
Cicero, Illinois Race Riot of 1951.
District 6 Illinois State Police HQ history, in Pontiac, Illinois, on Route 66. (1942-2003)
Egyptian Theatre History, DeKalb, Illinois.
Elgin & Belvidere Interurban 36-mile line between Belvidere and Elgin, Illinois. (1907-1930)
Elgin, Illinois First Airport, (42.07 North / 88.29 West)
Elgin National Watch Company, National Watch Company, Elgin, Illinois. (1864-1968)
Elsah, Illinois... The Village Frozen In Time.
Energy, Illinois' Calaboose (Jail) History.
Excelsior Press Brick Company at Gregg's Milk Station (Westmont), Illinois. (1872-1875)
F. W. Woolworth Co., the old days when they sold baby turtles in their pet departments.
Famous Sulphur Springs Resort in the City of Creal Springs, Illinois.
Fern Isabel Coppedge, an American impressionist painter, was born in Decatur, Illinois, 1883.
Frank Long House of Oak Park, Illinois.
Future City, Illinois, the Town that Washed Away.
Harlem and Ogden Avenues Intersection at Riverside, Lyons, and Berwyn in 1934.
Hawthorne Works, Western Electric Plant History Cicero, Illinois.
Henry Holstein and the Grist Mill at Irving Park and Roselle Roads in Bloomingdale, Illinois.
Hill-Top Drive-In Movie Theater, on US 6 (Old Rt. 66), Joliet, Illinois. (1955-2001)
How did land from Niles, Illinois, become a small subdivision of Chicago on Touhy Avenue?
How two Illinois men helped keep Adolph Hitler from developing the atomic bomb.
Illinois became the 21st State of the Union on December 3, 1818.
Illinois Central Railroad Company vs. the State of Illinois. Lake Michigan Usage (1892)
Illinois Central Railroad Station [Springfield Union Station] in Springfield, Illinois History.
Illinois County Boundaries Maps from 1790-1859.
Illinois' First Penitentiary in Alton was unfit for prisoners - closed 1860. Then the Civil War.
Illinois' Negro World War I Regiment. The Forgotten Story.
Illinois' portion of the Cannon Ball Route.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, "Sports Illustrated for Women" top female athlete in the 20th Century.
James Benton Parsons, the first Black Federal Judge, served the Northern Illinois court. 1961
Jerseyville, Illinois, An Extensive History.
John Crenshaw's 'Old Slave House' and "Reverse Underground Railroad" in Equality, IL
John Stevens, Naperville, Illinois' First Professional Builder.
John Washington Barker, Life and Times of a 131st Illinois Civil War Infantry Man.
Josephine Garis Cochrane, the inventor of the Dishwasher.
Krauss Building at 209 W. High Street, Freeburg, Illinois, history.
Keeley Institute in Dwight, Illinois. Dr. Leslie Keeley offers a cure for alcoholics.
Keeneyville is a Bedroom Community in unincorporated DuPage County, Illinois.
Kinsella Two-Story Log Cabin (1854), Fairview Heights. 1st Interior Shots Since 1976.
Kit Houses - Harris Brothers Co. / Chicago House Wrecking Co., Chicago. (1893-1933)
Kit Houses - Lustron Homes - A mid-century attempt at future prefab houses. (1947-1950)
▓ Kit Houses - Sears Modern Homes - History, floorplans, and more (1908-1940)
► The story of my private tour of a Sears Modern Home in Carlinville, Illinois.
Kline Creek Farm is a Living History Farm and Museum in West Chicago, Illinois.
Legal Alcohol was available during the prohibition years in Illinois and America.
Lewis Round Barn and Museum in the village of Mendon, Adams County, Illinois.
Libby Prison War Museum was in Chicago from 1889 to 1897.
Lighthouse - Grosse Pointe, Illinois.
Lighthouse - Little Fort, Illinois, and the Story of the Little Fort Lighthouse.
Lillian Honeywell Beall, age 20, was the youngest college professor in the United States.
Log Cabin Inn on Route 4, which later became Route 66, through Pontiac, Illinois.
Lydia Moss Bradley, Philanthropist and Founder of Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois.
Macoupin County Courthouse, in Carlinville, Illinois. (1870-In Use)
Maeystown, Illinois, the 1852 German Village that time forgot. Lots of Personal Photos.
Mailing Children by US Parcel Post.
Manual 'Ferris' Wheel at Old Catlin, Illinois, Fairgrounds Kills a Young Girl in 1876.
Marguerite Stitt Church, Congresswoman.
Martin-Boismenue House History in East Carondelet, Illinois, with my personal Photos.
Mary Ann McMorrow was the first female Supreme Court Justice in Illinois.
▓ Mary Lincoln, an in-depth analysis of her life. I'm sure she wasn't mentally ill.
Mattoon, Illinois' Mad Gasser.
Maud Powell, an American Violinist Pioneer. (1867-1920)
Meyer Brewing Company, Bloomington, Illinois. (1862 to 1922)
Mystery of the Exterior Color of President Lincoln's Funeral Train Car... Solved!
National Great Rivers Museum & Melvin Price Locks and Dam, Alton, Illinois.
National Watch Company, Elgin National Watch Company, Elgin, Illinois. (1864-1968)
Niles Centre (Skokie), Illinois, Market days (1880-1920).
Nineteen-year-old Alta May Hulett was the first woman admitted to the Illinois bar in 1873.
Novelty Golf and Games in Lincolnwood, Illinois.
O'Hare Stadium Midget Car Racing in Schiller Park, Illinois. (1956-1968)
Obama - Barack, August 4 is President Barack Obama Day in Illinois.
Obama - Barack, the History of the 44th President of the United States of America.
Obama - Michelle, the First Lady from Chicago Biography.
Oliver Typewriter Factory, Woodstock, Illinois. (1896-1959)
Ordinances of the Village of Evanston in Cook County, Illinois, 1874
Panic of 1873
Panic of 1893.
Panic of 1907
Piggly Wiggly Grocery Store, 106 S. Austin (at Madison), Oak Park, Illinois. 1926
Police Blotter - 1845, Lawrenceville, Betsey Reed; Illinois's 1st female serial killer hanged.
Police Blotter - 1924, Rondout, Largest Train Robbery in US History.
Police Blotter - 1980s, Justice, Did the Cook County Sheriff Arrest Resurrection Mary?
Police Blotter - 1992, Waukegan, Juan Rivera, 20 years in prison for murder; exonerated.
Police Blotter - 1993, Palatine, Brown's Chicken Restaurant Massacre on January 8.
Purple Hotel History in Lincolnwood, Illinois.
Racists Missed the Point of this Billboard in Justice, Illinois, September 1991.
▓ Radium Poisoning Killed Hundreds of "Ghost Girls" in Ottawa and other towns in Illinois.
Robert Hall Department Stores and Clothier, Chicago and Illinois Stores.
Robert Wadlow, World's Tallest Man from Alton, Illinois. (1918-1940)
Roller Rinks in Illinois: Hub Roller Rink & Axle Roller Rinks.
Ronald Reagan, the 40th and Only President Born in Illinois. (Birthplace: Tampico, IL.)
▓ Rondout, Illinois, 'Largest Train Robbery in US History in 1924, and still owns the 'Record.'
Rosell M. Hough, Colonel (1819-1892), the Biography of an Overachiever.
Rosiclare, Illinois, History in Hardin County on the Ohio River.
Rudimentary Road Construction History in Early Chicago and the Eastern United States.
Ship Disasters - Blue Comet Tanker Explodes in Calumet Harbor on October 29, 1953.
Ship Disasters - Lady Elgin sinks from collision by Port Clinton, Illinois, September 8, 1860.
Ship Disasters - Le Griffon; 1st ship built in America, 1679. Sank or Burned by Indians.
Ship Disasters - Silver Spray hits a limestone reef, sinks just off 49th St. beach, Chicago.
▓ Ship Disasters - SS Eastland tips in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915; over 85 Photos.
Lambs Farms, Libertyville, Illinois.
Settlement hierarchy by the number of residents.
Skokie Lagoons Evolution.
Skokie (Niles Centre), Illinois - Old businesses within a block radius from downtown Skokie.
St. Anthony's Hospital Fire in Effingham, Illinois. (1949)
▓ Stagecoach travel in early Chicago and Illinois.
State Capitol Buildings from 1818 to the Present.
Theodore Roosevelt in Freeport, Illinois, in 1910.
Tinker Family and Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens in Rockford, Illinois.
Tiny Towns in Illinois: The Village of Metcalf, Illinois.
Ulysses Grant's Order of Expulsion of Southern Jews is Quashed by Abraham Lincoln.
University of Illinois Observatory, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
US Air Mail Field & Checkerboard [Air] Field in Broadview, Illinois.
USS Illinois - Four United States Navy Ships have been named Illinois.
▓ Vault Lights of the 19th & 20th Centuries (prism glass) were used in Cities and Towns.
Video - Night Hanukkah Harry Saved Christmas, Season 15 of SNL - December 16, 1989.
Vigilante Justice in the Illinois Rock River Valley. "Regulators and the Prairie Bandits."
Village of Godfrey, Illinois.
Virden, Illinois, Coal Mine Massacre on October 12, 1898.
▓ Vivian Dorothea Maier, the Unknown Chicagoland Urban Photographer.
Where did you say Route 66 started?
Why is there a statue of Chicago's Mayor Richard J. Daley in Illinois' State Capitol?
Wilkening Creamery, Schaumburg, Illinois.
Woman's Suffrage - The Alpha Suffrage Club of Chicago, Illinois.
Women and Gender Roles in Civil War Illinois and the North.
Woodfield Shopping Mall in Schaumburg opened as the Largest Regional Mall in 1971.
World War II, U.S. Submarines Traveled the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Yanda Log Cabin in Glen Carbon, Illinois, was built in 1853.
Zeigler, Illinois - A Breath Away from Being the Nation’s Capitol.

Just want you to know that this website has been very helpful to me as I research my novel about Chicago in the early 1900s, a story inspired by my family history. Thanks for all these well written details. They make my story come alive in more interesting and realistic ways. ─Unknown, Jan. 12, 2024
1855 Chicago Lager Beer Riots.
1872 Chicago Bread Riot.
1886 Haymarket Riot - a movement in Chicago for the eight-hour workday.
1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic and its Effect on Chicago.
1933-34 Chicago World's Fair - Dymaxion Car.
1933-34 Chicago World's Fair - Mechanical Television.
Al Capone - "My Uncle Al Capone played Santa Claus." A true story.
▓ Al Capone's Soup Kitchen at 935 South State Street, Chicago, Illinois. The Truth.
Andy Frain Usher Service of Chicago, The History of
Anita McCormick Blaine, Chicago Philanthropist. (1866-1954)
Anna Carlo-Blasi, “Queen of Little Italy," campaigned for better sanitation to fight cholera.
Annette Nance-Holt, First Female named 1st Deputy of the Chicago Fire Dept. Commissioner.
Annie Malone, entrepreneur, philanthropist, one of America’s first black female millionaires.
Anthony Overton, a Chicagoan, The first black man to lead a major business conglomerate.
Anton Cermak, Chicago Mayor, Biography, Assassination, and an Alternate Theory.
Arnold, Schwinn & Co.; Schwinn Bicycle Company, Chicago, 1886-1991.
Art Institute First Building Contract & Details from 1892.
▓ Arthur J. Audy Home in Chicago was the Largest Juvenile Jail in the World.
Association House of Chicago, an early Settlement House.
Automatic Street Traffic System, Inventor Earnest Sirrine of Chicago, patented in 1910.
Babette Mandel, Women of Influence Shaping Chicago History. (1842-1945)
Baer's Treasure Chest Downtown Chicago's Arcade and Magic Shop.
Barack Obama Day, August 4, 2018, was the first day of this President's holiday in Illinois.
Barack Obama, Story of "No Drama Obama," 44th U.S. President.
Base Ball in the 1800s was Considerably Different than Today’s Game.
Bessie "Queen Bess" Coleman, First Black & Native American Woman with a Pilot License.
Beverly, Beverly Hills, and the surrounding Chicago communities' History.
Birchwood Country Club, Chicago's other Rogers Park/West Ridge community golf club.
Birdcage Apartments at Ridge and Farwell in Chicago were built in 1959.
Boarding House History in Chicago begins with the Fort Dearborn settlement.
Brennan Family Easter Photos from Chicago, Illinois. (1947-2013)
Bridge to Nowhere, the Chicago Story.
Bund leader Fritz Kuhn promised to make Germany & America great in a 1939 Chicago rally.
Cable Court, a One Block Private Street, a Turnaround for Cablecars, in Chicago.
Carmelita Pope - One of the First Ladies of Chicago Television.
Carroll Street, a little-known subterranean street, runs along the River North neighborhood.
Carter Harrison Sr., Mayor, Assassinated by Patrick Eugene Prendergast 10/28/1893
► Carter Harrison Sr., Last Speech at World's Fair before His Murder; Night of 10/28/1893
Cemetery History of Early Chicago.
Central Station, Chicago Terminal. Also known as the Illinois Central Depot.
Clarence Buckingham and his Memorial Fountain in Chicago's Grant Park.
Charles Dickinson Inn and Tavern History in today's Portage Park Community of Chicago.
Charles "Carl" Frederick Günther, The History of Chicago's "The Candy Man."
Charles Jerold Hull, a biographical sketch of Chicago's philanthropist of Hull House fame.
Chicago's 19th-century public police force history.
Chicago's Air Quality.
Chicago's Alley History.
Chicago Area Indian Villages were a mixture of tribes.
Chicago and Evanston Telephone Exchange History, including name code meanings.
Chicago Artilleryman's Account of the Battle of Shiloh. "Our Wish for a Hard Battle."
Chicago as a Hunting Post.
Chicago Beach Hotel at 53rd and the Lakefront, Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago Cholera Cemetery, also known as the Lake and Wabash Burial Site. (1832)
Chicago Club at Michigan Avenue and Van Buren Street, the original Art Institute building.
Chicago "Common Brick" and "Street Paver Brick" history, with pictures.
Chicago Daily News Fresh Air Fund Sanitarium. (1920-1939)
Chicago's "Devil Baby" from the Early 20th Century.
Chicago's East Side Begins at North Boulevard (1600N).
Chicago's Famous Lake Shore Drive History.
Chicago's First Resident, Antoine Ouilmette, July 1790-1826.
Chicago Firsts through 1880.
Chicago's Founding Hot Dog Companies.
Chicago's Gay-Rights protest in June 1977, a turning point in the city's LGBTQ+ movement.
Chicago's Greatest Summer Olympians.
Chicago Home for Aged Jews was established on the South Side in 1891.
Chicago Home for the Incurables was located at 5555 South Ellis Avenue.
Chicago's Horse Railways History.
Chicago; How the Automobile Became King.
▓ Chicago's "I Will" Motto and "Y" Municipal Device History. {You'll know it when you see it.}
Chicago, Illinois, was the Silent Movie Capital of the World.
Chicago in the early 1800s. An Area in Transition.
Chicago was Incorporated as a town on Aug. 12, 1833; Ordinances passed on Nov. 7, 1833.
Chicago Leland Giants Negro Base Ball Team. (1901-1909)
Chicago's Lincoln Park High Bridge was called the "Suicide Bridge" History.
Chicago Map of Settlement Patterns in 1950.
Chicago Motor Coach Company's Double-Decker Buses, and Owner John Hertz's.
▓ Chicago National League Baseball Park history begins with Union Baseball Grounds..
Chicago Proposes to Secede from Illinois to Form the "State of Chicago."
Chicago Race Riot (the "Red Summer") of 1919.
▓ Chicago Radio Laboratory selling "Z-Nith" radios in 1918 (Future Zenith Radio Corp.)
Chicago River Calamity Destroyed all the Bridges over the Chicago River in 1849.
Chicago's Small Neighborhood Parks and Playgrounds History.
Chicago’s Smallest Cemetery: the Andreas Von Zirngibl Gravesite.
Chicago's State and Madison Streets, the Busiest Corner in the World.
Chicago Streetcar № 1137, Lost and Found.
Chicago's Telegraph Arrived in 1848. the Eastern Terminus of “Western” Communication.
Chicago, The Origin and Meaning of the Name (Chicagoua).
Chicago's Wilson Avenue Lighthouse & Water Crib History.
Chippewa Park History in Chicago.
Christmas Tree Ship is a captivating Chicago holiday story.
▓ City of Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium History.
Civil War Soldier's Home at 739 East 35th Street in Chicago, Illinois, was built in 1864.
Clark Street's History in the Rogers Park Community of Chicago.
Coal, the Technology that Changed Chicago.
Crosby's Opera House and his lottery scheme, Chicago, Illinois (1865-1871).
CTA Rapid Transit System provides direct access to Chicago department stores.
Cut-Rate Toys at 2424 West Devon Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, My Story.
Daniel Hale Williams Completed the First Open-Heart Surgery in Chicago in 1893.
Daniel Hudson Burnham, Architect: An In-depth Biography. (1846-1912)
De-Mil Putting Course at Devon and Milwaukee Avenues in Chicago.
Devon Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, a Brief History.
▓ Dime Museums were at the lowest rungs on the Chicago showbiz ladder.
Discovery of an Indian Effigy Mound in Lake View Community, Chicago, Before 1000 AD
Dutch Community History in Chicagoland.
Edgewater Beach Hotel and Apartments in Chicago. History with lots of Images.
Edgewater Golf Club History in Chicago, Illinois.
Edith Spurlock Sampson, America's first African-American female Judge.
Eliza Emily Chappell, the First Chicago Teacher Paid by Public Funds in 1833.
Elk's National Veterans Memorial was built at Sheridan and Diversey in 1923-24.
Ernest “Ernie” Banks, the first Black Chicago Cubs player.
Essanay and Selig Film Companies made Chicago the Silent Movie Capital of the World.
Evanston Avenue in Chicago was renamed to Broadway in 1913.
Everleigh Club in Chicago. The Most Famous Brothel in US History.
Fair Store was founded in Chicago, Illinois. (1874-1963)
Famous Block 37 in Chicago.
▓ Father Time Clock at the Jewelers Building and Stratosphere Club Speakeasy Wacker Dr.
Farragut Boat Club of Chicago History.
First Fallout Shelter signs were installed in Chicago's Loop on November 11, 1962.
Galena & Chicago Union Railway Station at Canal and Kinzie, Chicago's first depot. 1855
General McArthur Day, April 26, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois.
Ghost Signs found in Chicago, Illinois. Over 200 are presented with sign locations.
Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab Kit, the Most Dangerous Toy in the World.
Google Maps mystery of a Chicago location called "1980 Stat Boundary."
Grand Opera House of Chicago, Illinois. (1872-1958)
Grant Park Band Shell; Chicago's Petrillo Bandshell history.
Great Central (Train) Station, Chicago. (1856-1893)
Greektown, a Chicago neighborhood, served the first Gyros in America.
▓ Green Tree Tavern at Lake and Water Streets. A first-hand account of an overnight stay.
German Turnverein "gymnastics" movement in Chicago began in 1852.
Gombien Jean, a Chicago Leland Hotel Employee, Dies from the Oddest Cause in 1892.
▓ Grant Park Stadium was renamed Soldier Field by Chicago’s Gold Star Mothers in 1925.
Gymnasium and Chicago's first park, Natatorium, was built at Douglas Park in 1896.
▓ H.H. Holmes, an in-depth look at his murder castle and his victims.
H.W. Rincker, Chicago's Famous Bell Maker.
Halsted Street Cable Car Line in 1893. Chicago City Railroad Company.
Heald Square Monument History at Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue.
Henry Frerk Sons Inc, Chicago, Illinois. (est. 1888)
HI-FI Tavern Bombing on March 26, 1961. Forty-one were Injured, and one death
▓ Hobo College at 17 East Congress Street in Chicago was founded in 1908.
Hotel Alcazar in Chicago. A "Green Book" Approved Hotel for Negro Guests.
Hotel Galt, Sterling, Illinois, History.
How did Tripp and Lowell Avenues get mixed in with Chicago's "Alphabet Town" K streets?
How the City of Chicago Dealt with All the Horse Manure.
Igorrotes Village Complete Story. A Show at Riverview Park in Chicago in 1906
Illinois Central Depot, also known as Central Station, Chicago Terminal.
Illinois Central Railroad Company vs. the State of Illinois. Lake Michigan Usage (1892)
Illinois Theatre, 65 East Jackson Boulevard, Chicago.
Illinois Training School for Nurses' History at Cook County Hospital, Chicago.Impact of World Impact of World War I on the German Residence of Chicago and Illinois.
Influenza Epidemic of Chicago in 1918-1919.
International Museum of Surgical Science at 1524 N Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.
▓ The Iroquois Theater Fire of 1903 claimed over 602 Lives in Chicago.
Irving Park Settlement, the History before Annexation by Chicago in 1889.
Isaac Woolf, owner of Woolf’s Clothing Store in Chicago. Known as the "Newsboy's Friend."
Italian Pharmacy's (1901 picture) location in Chicago's Little Italy Neighborhood found.
Jack Spratt Coffee House Civil Rights Sit-In on May 15, 1943, in Chicago.
Jacob Bolotin, Chicagoan, the world's first blind physician licensed to practice medicine.
James "Big Jim" O'Leary's Amazing Life Story. (1869-1925)
Jane Addams, her Life and Times, including Hull House.
▓ Jane Byrne, Chicago's First Female Mayor.
John Kinzie - Important Chicago Firsts by the Kinzie Family.
▓ John Kinzie - Kills Jean Baptiste La Lime, Chicago's first murder victim, killed in 1812.
John Kinzie - One of Chicago's Founding Fathers.
John Schmidt, aka Johann Otto Hoch, is thought to have killed over 50 women.
John T. McCutcheon: Story behind "Injun Summer" cartoon and story in the 1907 Tribune.
John V. Farwell & Co. was the largest dry-goods firm in Chicago.
Johnny Torrio, Mobster, and the Handshake Murder.
Kadish's Natatorium on the corner of Michigan Ave. & Jackson Blvd. in Chicago, 1880s.
Kalo Shop, the "leading maker" of the Arts and Crafts silver movement in Chicago.
Kate Sturges Buckingham was one of the Great Women in Chicago's History.
Keanon Kyles, a black opera singer, gets his big break after years as a night janitor.
Keeley Brewing Company of Chicago. (1876-1953)
Kit Houses - Chicago Shelter Cottages - Mass short-term house kits for 1871 Fire Victims.
Kit Houses - Harris Brothers Co. / Chicago House Wrecking Co., Chicago. (1893-1933)
Kit Houses - Lustron Homes - A mid-century attempt at future prefab houses. (1947-1950)
Kit Houses - Sears Modern Homes - History, floorplans, popular Illinois choice. (1908-1940)
► The story of my private tour of a Sears Modern Home in Carlinville, Illinois.
▓ "Kiosk Sphinx" built by a Chicago millionaire, a crazy house with lots of pictures to prove it.
Kolze's Electric (Amusement) Park, Chicago, Illinois.
▓ Kwa̱nu’sila, “The Thunder-Maker” Totem Pole. Amazing history at Addison & LSD, Chicago.
La Rabida Hospital at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Lake View Cycling Club of Chicago in the 1890s.
Lakeside Club was organized in 1884 at 3138-40 South Indiana Avenue; Brief History.
Lane Manual Training High School History (Today's Lane Tech HS) in Chicago. (1908)
Lee's Place / Hardscrabble, Illinois, today's Bridgeport community of Chicago.
Levy Wittenberg, Chicago's Matzoh King.
Lill and Diversy Brewery, Chicago's first commercial brewery. (1833-Fire of 1871)
Lincoln Logs construction toy was developed in Chicago, Illinois.
Lincoln Park Baseball Grounds in Chicago, Illinois. (1910)
Lincoln Park Gun Club of Chicago, Illinois. (1912-1992)
Lincoln Park Hospital (Inc.), 500 La Salle Avenue, Chicago, Ill. 1905 Advertisement.
Lloyd Gaines, Civil Rights Pioneer, Disappears in Chicago.
Lois Graham McDowell the First Woman in the US to earn a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D.
Lorado Taft's "Ferguson Fountain," aka Fountain of the Great Lakes, Art Institute of Chicago.
Lytton Department Stores (aka The Hub), Chicago's Premier Clothing Retailer. (1887-1986)
Mahalia Jackson, known as the "Queen of Gospel" and a Chicagoan who's World Famous.
Manhattan Beach, Windsor, Rocky Ledge, & Rainbow Beaches 75th St. & Lake Michigan.
Marine Hospitals of Chicago was on the grounds of the old Fort Dearborn.
Mark Beaubien, the Chicago Hospitality Guru, began in 1830.
Markay Recreation Center & Markay Bowling Alley, 7221 North Western Avenue, Chicago.
Maud Slye, MD, 1923 Nobel Laureate. (1869-1954)
Mayor of Chicago fired all police officers for eight hours in 1861.
Mayor Richard J. Daley dies in Office on December 20, 1976.
Medusa-Challenger Barge; the Chicago River Bridge Killer.
Meigs Field Airport was a single-strip airport built on Northerly Island Chicago.
Memorials of the Fort Dearborn Massacre, which occurred on August 15, 1812.
Merchandise Mart in Chicago, History & Little Known Facts.
Midget Club at 4016 West 63rd Street, Chicago. (1948-1982)
Minnie Miñoso was the first Black Chicago White Sox player.
Monarch Pipe and Welding Company, 730 West Harrison Street, Chicago, December 1946.
Montgomery Ward Biography. Founder of retail catalog sales.
Montgomery Ward Fights to keep Chicago's lakefront “open, clear and free.”
Montgomery Ward
Moo & Oink Grocery Chain's History.
Museum of Science and Industry - 18-Foot Walk-Through Heart Display.
Museum of Science and Industry changing name after $125M gift. 10/2019
▓ Mystery of What Chicago's "Agatite" Avenue's Name Means... Solved!
Newspaper Alley, home to 13+ Chicago papers from 1833-1918, had a wicked past.
Nixon's Parisian Hippodrome and Amphitheater in Chicago. (1872-1873)
North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. A brief history.
Nymph Fountain in Chicago, Illinois. (1899)
O'Hare International Airport - Chicago, UFO sighting occurred on November 7, 2006.
Oahu Isle of the Nameless Cafe, Chicago. The Famous Live Jazz Venue of the 1940s.
Obama - Barack, the History of the 44th President of the United States of America.
Obama - Michelle, Chicagoan, the First Lady's Biography.
Obama - The Barack Obama Presidential Library is Digitally Open.
▓ Old Town in Chicago was "HIP" in the 50s, "COOL" in the 60s, and "FAB" in the 70s.
Old University of Chicago. (1857-1886) then known as Chicago University.
Oldest House in Chicago Debate.
▓ Olson Memorial Park, Waterfall, and Rock Garden, Chicago. (1935-1978)
One Killed When Blast Flips a Chicago Manhole Cover on Saturday, May 29, 1937.
Oscar Mayer's Enterprise was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1883.
Otto Funk, Chicago Public Library book thief, a medical quack, and insane asylum escapee.
Palmer Raids (aka the Red Scare) in 1919 Chicago.
Parks - Beilfuss Park in Chicago, and the History of the Springfield Tank Natatorium.
Parks - Indian Boundary Park in Chicago, on the Treaty of 1816 Indian Boundary Line.
Philo Carpenter was Chicago's first pharmacist and a drugstore owner.
▓ Pinners, Chicagoland Baseball Game played against the front stairs of houses or ledges.
Pittsfield Building in Chicago History.
Plank Road history in the Chicago area.
Police Blotter - 1892, A Masked Highwayman Terrorizes Chicago.
Police Blotter - 1892, Gombien Jean Dies from the Oddest Cause. Today, We Know Why.
Police Blotter - 1893, Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison Sr. Assassinated by P. Prendergast.
Police Blotter - 1927, Michael Stopec's Unsolved and Bewildering Murder.
Police Blotter - 1939, The Disappearance of Civil Rights Pioneer Lloyd Gaines in Chicago.
Police Blotter - 1978, Serial Killer, John Wayne Gacy.
Polluted Chicago River History of Improvements in Water Quality.
President Street Names in Chicago.
Primer about the difference between a Chicago community and a Chicago neighborhood.
Prince Edward visits Chicago. Mayor Wentworth introduces him in his usual arrogant style.
Public Bath Houses in Chicago.
Racial sign, "No Negroes, Jews, Dogs," located in 20th Century Kenilworth, Illinois.
▓ Railroad Fair in Chicago; 1948-49. Both Years' Official Guide Books in PDF format.
▓ Raising Chicago Streets Out of the Mud in 1858.
Rainbo Building's History, 4812-4836 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois.
▓ Rear Houses in Chicago have an interesting history.
▓ Red-Light District or the Vice Districts of Chicago's Past.
Red Scare (aka the Palmer Raids) in 1919 Chicago.
Relic House of Chicago; a Pictorial History.
Republic of Forgottonia; 16 western Illinois counties tried to secede to form a new state.
Richard J. Daley was elected to his first political office... but as a Republican in 1936.
Richard W. Sears, the Story of an American Merchant in Chicago in 1893.
Riverview Stadium; Different Stadiums at Different Times in Chicago's History.
Robert Hall Department Store and Clothier, Chicago and Illinois Stores.
▓ Rogers Park and West Ridge Communities of Chicago, their Intertwined History.
Rogers Park and West Ridge Communities Movie Houses' History in Chicago.
Rogers Park Community of Chicago's Clark Street History.
Rogers Park Community Baseball Club and Ball Park at Devon and Clark, Chicago.
▓ Rosa Raisa, Chicago’s Jewish Diva in the Golden Age of Opera.
Rublof & Wolack Building in Uptown, Chicago.
Rush Street Swing Bridge in Chicago was totally destroyed on November 3, 1863.
Ruth Snyder's execution and Tom Howard's most famous photos in newspaper history.
Sally Rand; Fan Dancer 1933, Century of Progress World's Fair; Bubble Dancer 1934.
Saloon Building Plays an important role in Chicago's history. (1836-1871)
▓ Sam Leone's 4-mile stretch of Chicago's Touhy beach, lifeguards rescue 10K+ in 40 years.
Sandmaster, a dredging vessel, struck 13 Chicago River bridges on 44 separate occasions.
Sarah Elisabeth Jacobs Goode was the first Negro woman to receive a US patent.
Sears Tower - The History of the First Sears Tower.
Seymour Paisin Ladies Apparel on Devon and Talman Avenues in Chicago, Illinois.
Ship Disasters - Blue Comet Tanker Explodes in Calumet Harbor on October 29, 1953.
Ship Disasters - Globe steamship explodes on the Chicago River on Nov.8,1861 - 15 dead.
Ship Disasters - Silver Spray hits limestone reef, sinks at just off 49th St. beach, Chicago.
▓ Ship Disasters - SS Eastland tips in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915; over 85 Photos.
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, previously the "Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago," renamed in 2017.
Sidney Wanzer & Sons Creamery of Chicago. (1857-1970s)
Silos at Wrigley Field?
Slot Car Racing Was a Popular Craze in Chicagoland in the 1960s and 70s.
Smoke-Ring Blowing Billboard on State and Randolph Streets in Chicago.
South Water Street, Chicago, beginning in the 1830s.
"Spiderman," Dan Goodwin scaled the John Hancock Building and the Sears Tower in 1981.
Spiegel Incorporated History, Chicago, Illinois.
SS Aquarama, a luxury cruiser, docked at Navy Pier, Chicago, for the summer of 1955.
SS Eastland Disaster on the Chicago River on July 24, 1915. History with over 85 Photos.
Stockyards - History of Union Stock Yards and Transit Company, Chicago.
▓ Stockyards - The First Chicago Stockyard, "Bull's Head Market."
Stratosphere Club 35 East Wacker Drive and Father Time Clock at the Jewelers Building.
Suicide Bridge (High Bridge) History in Chicago's Lincoln Park.
Tavern Theatres in Frontier Chicago.
Thomas Hoyne & Harvey Doolittle Colvin were both Chicago Mayors at the same time. (1876)
Thompson’s Cafeteria Restaurants of Chicago, Illinois.
Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Thunder Mountain Ski Resort, Chicago, Illinois.
Timothy “Big Tim” Murphy, Labor Racketeer's Murder in 1928 Rogers Park, Chicago.
Town of Austin, Illinois, was annexed to Chicago against the town's wishes in 1899.
Treasure Chest, Downtown Chicago's Arcade and Magic Shop.
▓ TV - Bozo, the Beginnings, US Bozo shows, and Chicago's WGN-TV Bozo shows.
TV - "Magic Door" TV Show, a part of Chicagoland Sunday Morning Programming.
▓ TV - Ray Rayner, a Staple of Chicago Children's Television in the 1960s & 70s.
"Ugly Law" stayed on Chicago's books for 93 years.
United Airlines; World's first stewardess service between Chicago and San Francisco.
USS Chicago - Four United States Navy Ships have been named Chicago.
Vivian Dorothea Maier, the Unknown Chicagoland Urban Photographer.
Waste Disposal History in Chicago and Those Concrete Garbage Incinerators in the Alleys.
Wendella Sightseeing Boats has a long history in Chicago.
▓ Was Rosehill Cemetery Initially named Roe’s Hill?
Western Avenue in Chicago had its name changed to "Woodrow Wilson Road" in 1924.
Why is Chicago's Catalpa Avenue between Western and Lincoln Avenues so Wide?
Why do Chicagoans hate ketchup on their hot dogs?
▓ Willa Beatrice "Queen Bess" Brown was an aviator, teacher, lobbyist, and civil rights activist.
Willard F. Myrick (1809-1889), a brief biography of a Chicagoan.
Willard Jones Cow Path still exists in Downtown Chicago at 100 W. Monroe.
William Boldenweck and the History of the Screw Club in Lake View, Chicago.
Wolf Point's Beginning in Chicago, Illinois, including the history of the Wolf Point Tavern.
Woman's Suffrage - Illinois Woman Suffrage Association; "Ahead of Their Time."
Woman's Suffrage - The Alpha Suffrage Club of Chicago, Illinois.
Women's World's Fair of 1925 was so successful that it was held for three more years.
Woodblock alleys in Chicago's Astor Street District.
World's First Nuclear Reactor Developed at the University of Chicago.
▓ Zoot Suit Created by Harold Fox in Chicago: A Complete History.

