June 15, 2015

Lake View Township News

 Snippets of Township News
(1857-1887)
(The word 'town' in all articles refer to 'township').
One of the local newspapers of the day
image - Ravenswood-Lake View Community Collection
The Township (1857-87)
The City (1887-89)
both township & city held the same territory
 of land and borders
A Glossary 
of Township Officials
image - Citizen Participation Institute
most of these positions have not changed 
since the early days of America's townships
1857 was the Year!
Another Lake View Township map with link below
highlights important areas and streets, if zoomed, in 1879
a development map below
University of Chicago Map 1863-1879
highlights significant areas of development such as the community of Pine Grove (Belmont to Irving Park Road)
Sunnyside (Roadhouse) Inn - photo 1890
one of first notable resorts/hotels in the mid 19th century 
besides the Lake View House/Hotel Like the Lake View Hotel, this 'Inn' was meant to attracted Chicagoans to the new township that 
would be free of Chicago's regulations and population density. 
1887 Sanborn Fire Map location view of it
Chronological 
Developments:
1854  A Chicago surveyor, James Rees, and real estate developer invested in the 'resort house' in Township of Lake View with Elisha Hundley. Elisha's residence would be later coined by a visitor as The Lake View Hotel due to its proximity to the lakefront perched on a bluff overlooking the lake with gentle breezes from the lake.
This article below tells a tale of the first evening at the 
Lake View Hotel - the old Huntley House 
1857 Lake View Township was established on February 17th and then by election in April 17th in a school house in Andersonville with 64 male votes cast. 
with only two school districts

1865 The township is finally incorporated according to Everett Chamberlin author of book called Chicago and its Suburbs published in 1874. - page 343
The State of the United States  
in 1857
The nation was in the midst of a recession
 that would last almost three years



1863  Rails for the horse drawn public transportation laid on Evanston Avenue (Broadway) from Diversey to Graceland Avenue (Irving Park Road). In 1896, as part of the City of Chicago, this segment of road was converted to electric powered streetcars.
1864  Township School #1 was established to be later known as Nettelhorst School. The steam engine called 'dummy' a form of steam powered means of public transportation replaced the horse drawn carriage on Evanston Avenue only to be reverted back to horse drawn after years of public dissatisfaction.
Between the years 1859-64: 
several cemeteries ...
were established along Green Bay Road (Clark Street). Rose Hill Cemetery was the first followed by Graceland, German Lutheran (Wunders), Boniface, along smaller Jewish Cemeteries south of Irving Park Road.
a view of the Evanston & Lake Superior RR lines leading 
to the entrance of Rose Hill cemetery
1861-1865
image - LibGuides for Library Schools
Three states remained as slave states within the United States
 from a 1864 Harper Weekly
“Pile on the rails! Come, comrades, all, We'll sing a song to-night; To-morrow, when the bugles call, Be ready for the fight. Be ready then with loud hurrah To battle or to die; When Grant shall yield, the Northern star Will fade from out the sky. Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! Before us lies the rebel host, Their watch-fires we can see; We laugh to hear the traitor boast Of Southern victory. Three cheers for Grant, and one more cheer, Until the woods ring back!” 
The State of Illinois contributed 250 thousands soldiers to the Union Army (1861-65); initially 500 hundred from Cook County (Lake View Township was part of). These volunteers mostly served in the Western Theater (primarily along the Mississippi River). The most important battles of that theater were the critical battles of Shiloh, Stone’s River, Chickamauga and the siege of Vicksburg.
 Read more about


Lake View's 
Camp Fry
(1864-1865)
Wright Grove (Protoball) once called Wright Woods and was apparently located south of Diversey & Broadway (once called Lake Shore Plank Road) and north of Fullerton (border with Chicago), west of Clark Street (once high ground). Lincoln Park, the park was located south of North Avenue, at the time. 
Township of Lake View in the Civil War
The township government of Lake View hosted an encampment during the last year of the war called Camp Fry. Camp Fry (1864-1865) was a 'mustering camp' that gathered and trained residents of the area and apparently later became a POW camp ?? at the tail end of the war. 
the major battles of the war - red stars
image - Pinterest
According to my online research most of the troops were mustered as Illinois Volunteer Regiment Infantries to be later federalized when Camp Fry was established in 1864. According to my research the troops mustered a the camp that could have been been involved in the the ‘Forrest's Defense of Mississippi’ in June-August 1864. This series of battles won Union forces protection from Confederate raiders on General Sherman’s drive to Atlanta. The federalize infantry regiments that were mustered from Camp Fry were the following: 132nd Regiment, 134th Regiment Infantry, and the 156th Regiment Infantry among a few. Among the residents of Lake View Township that were mustered from Camp Fry were two brothers, Charles and George Catlin of the 134th. Charles was 20 years old when he entered Camp Fry while George was 22 years old - both born in Carlinville, Illinois – both survived and mustered out 100 days later - length of service at that time.
These pages mention residents of Lake View Township 
- the Catlin Brothers mentioned. One was a corporal and the other a private in Company D of the 134th Illinois Regiment

 134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry drilling at Columbus, Kentucky 
postcard - Library of Congress 
An Account of 
of Camp Fry by Stephen E. Osman
a 'paper albumin' emailed to me in 2018
Camp Fry in Wright Woods
156th Illinois Regiment in standing attention
photo copy sent to me by Stephen E. Osman
 who is a Civil War historian from Minnesota
Other Township
News: 
text - Lake View Saga
1866  The Board of Health was established as well as the police force consisting of four constables.
Also in 1866  Fullerton Avenue bridge connected Lake View Township to Chicago over the North Branch of the Chicago River
1897 photos - Newberry Library
1906 negative below - Chicago History Museum
'The first documented bridge at this location was built in 1866 of wood by Fox and Howard and was hand-turned. In 1877, W. B. Howard rebuilt the bridge as an iron/wood combination bridge, again a hand-turned structure. This bridge was replaced in 1897 by the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio who constructed a Scherzer Rolling Lift bascule bridge, which was the second highway bridge of this type constructed. The bridge was 127 feet long and 50 feet wide.' - Historical Bridges.com
1868  Ravenswood Land Company plans an 'upper class' development along Little Fort Road (Lincoln Avenue). 
Also, in 1868 a then well-known conservative & moralistic newspaper, Chicago Tribune, article reported acts of drunken "debauchery" in German a beer garden "in the groves of Lake View" seen from the roof of the Lake View House once located on Grace Street and the then existing lakefront.
Van Vechten Map 1869 of the location of Lake View House
and below a scene from the roof in 1866
 from Chicago and Midwest Collection via Newsberry Library
1869  The Lincoln Park Commission was established by the State of Illinois so that the commissioners of both the City of Chicago and the Township of Lake View to share are responsibility for the new park along the lakefront. The border of the township was 
Fullerton Avenue at the time. 
Also, in 1869  The Illinois legislature granted a small section of the township to Chicago - call it the first annexation - from Fullerton Avenue to Western Avenue to the river and then along the river - North Branch of the Chicago River.
Section I of the map below - February 27, 1869
a Google view of the area above

1870   Lake View Township chartered its first post office to be located at the Old Town Hall building on Addison and Halsted streets. The population of the township was 1,841.
1871    a general civic discussion in the town
Also, 1871 Petitions for Street Improvements
The Fire that Influence the Township
1871  October 8th through the 10th of that month the Great
Chicago Fire starts/stops just beyond the border with Chicago on the north side of Fullerton Avenue but not by much.
The shaded area indicate the fires reach - 1871 map
University of Chicago Digital Map Collection, zoomed
photo below via Chicagology

An Account of the Fire
by Jenne Hall
In 1911 'The Story of Chicago' by Jenne Hall was published. Her book about the City of Chicago was about the fire as she knew first hand. She devoted an entire chapter on the fire.
This book is part of my personal collection



The only house in the township 
to be destroyed

According to the Hidden Truth via the Chicago Daily News dated 10/11/71  "Just here it may be interesting to state that at the same hour, the flames caught John A. Huck’s house, beyond the city limits & located in Lake View Township - Fullerton Ave was the border and it was the last house destroyed." According to Chicagology, by 1871 the J.A. Huck Brewery had become one of the largest breweries in the country, both business and home destroyed.
The Day After the Fire ...
The following are pages from the mentioned book above of the fire that nearly placed the citizens of Lake View at risk and the horrors for Chicagoans who traveled north. This account was published in 1872.
(link to another post)
Lake View helped Pay the Bills of the Park
1873  Establishment of Lake View Township (Civic) building to be later referred to as The Town Hall. In the beginning police and the post office were located in the same building. Also that year, township residents discussed annexation to the City of Chicago 16 years before actual annexation of 1889 - the first attempt was in 1887. That meeting was so disorganized that the group could not appoint a permanent chairman for future meetings.
 
1893 photo - Art Institute of Chicago
enlarge photo without the staircase
University of Illinois-Urban/Champaign - unknown date
In 1873 March
 a 1887 Sanborn Fire Map of the area
a 1894 zoomed view below
1873 The federal administered Marine Hospital is built along the lakefront in an area known today as Buena Park. The first hospital was destroyed in the Chicago Fire of 1871 located near the Chicago River.
postcard - Ebay
1874  The Township Board of Trustees restricted cattle movements in some areas. 
Township Board of Trustees issued uniforms for police in the hope that "civic morality can be restored" from the visitation of Chicago citizens. A Chicago Tribune article stated that some local real estate developers were concerned of lower property values of the southeast area of the township due to “moonlight evenings of serenading” and “habit of rehearses” particularly at the corner of Halsted Street and Diversey Boulevard. 
Ravenswood Pioneer Grocery 
in the Community of Ravenswood in 1874
P.L. Miller Fancy Groceries and Meat Market 
corner of Foster and Wolcott Avenues - 1860's?
1874 Lake View Township High School was established on the corner of Addison & Ashland avenues. View my post history of this school and others in my post called The High Schools & Academy.
The State of Lake View in 1874
'Chicago and its Suburbs' by Everett Chamberlin 
"This is a large township extending north from the city limits
[Chicago]. The south boundary [Fullerton Avenue] is but two and a half miles from Clark Street bridge. Its natural features are among the best in the vicinity of Chicago. The wooded section in the southern edge of which Lincoln Park[,the park] is situated extends along the [existing] lakeshore far to the north and many miles beyond the northern limits of Lake View [Devon Avenue]. This gives the place the very desirable advantage of grove lots throughout its length and breadth and affords many very pretty residence sites which have been largely taken advantage of by citizens of Chicago whose means enabled them to enclose large lots and build handsome homes upon them. The place is thickly settled as a consequence of these advantages and its nearness to business centers in Chicago. The area of the township is about ten square miles. The lands in Lake View attracted early attention. The settlement dates back over a period of twenty years and many of the lots having during this long stretch of years been subjected to constant improvement. The place bears something of the appearance of the old suburbs about the cities in the East. Viewed from the observatory of the new United States Marine Hospital [once located between Marine Drive & Clarendon Avenue; Sunnyside to Montrose] the whole village resembles a beautiful park. The government of the township incorporated in 1865 [and founded in 1854] is in the hands of a Board of Trustees who have control of thoroughfares, bridges, public improvements [of] buildings, the police force, and generally of all matters usually subjected to municipal rule. The routes of [to the] approach to Lake View from the city are as follows: One line of horse cars leave Clark Street bridge every twelve minutes running north on North Clark Street to Diversey Street [and] one half mile within the limits of the place and connecting there with a dummy for Graceland [Avenue/ Irving Park Road] which runs once an hour. This trip occupies fifty minutes. A second line of horse cars leave Clark Street bridge at like intervals and run on Clark Street to Lincoln Avenue opposite the principal entrance to Lincoln Park [,the park] and then on Lincoln Avenue in a northwest direction and reaching the southern limit of Lake View at Fullerton Avenue one mile west from the lakeshore. The Milwaukee branch of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad runs through [this] suburb north and south with a daily service of twelve trains each way. In addition to the second track now being laid on this road there are now under consideration [for] two other projects looking to the development of the [Township of] Lake View by new railroads to run out of [City of] Chicago on Sheffield Avenue through Lake View to [Township of] Evanston on a route east of the [Chicago &] Milwaukee [railroad] track [while] the other a branch through [community of] Bowmanville to [Township of] Evanston to be constructed by the Northwestern Railroad Company."
Snippet of News in 1874:
Property Sales
Voting Stations Planned
and School News
Say NO to Taverns
Tax Revenues
and Election News
Board of Trustee 
Decisions
No Cattle Allowed 
at Large
Lake View had a Glee Club 
by 1875
1875  A local newspaper called the Suburban reports the establishment of a baseball team called the 'Lake View Brown Stockings’  as the first organized team on the north-side; a precursor to the Chicago Cubs. Also, in 1875 one of the first 'stone and brick' churches was constructed and dedicated that year (for mostly the elite of the township). Remember, the township borders were north of Fullerton Avenue until 1889. The building also served as a town-hall meeting place for the citizens of the township and then City of Lake View. Read more of that day with the article below...
1875 
 A Storm and those Taverns
(click to enlarge article)
1875 December
Population almost four thousand
Snippet of News 
in 1876
Gossip Tells All
1876 Street Opened 
to the Public
(Dummy Road = Broadway)

1876  
Mention of a baseball team called the 
Brown Stockings & a new community called Summerdale located north of Foster Avenue 
The New Community
 of Summerdale
an extension of Edgewater
 1878  Major industry is developed with the establishment of Northwestern Terra Cotta Company near Clybourn and Wrightwood Avenue. The company would employ ten thousand workers at its peek. An 1892 advertisement - Art Institute of Chicago
This publisher recreates documents for the modern reader. This book has over 190 pages; I have only selected what I regarded the most interesting. More of the pages, not all, are mentioned in my album in LakeView Historical-Facebook.
 Note 1: North Fifty-Nine Street is Foster Avenue
Note 2: Graceland Avenue is Irving Park Road
Prior to 1887 the township had seven districts and when the township became a city that year the districts became wards.
Trustees News 
in 1879 
1880  The residents of Pine Grove - Lake View East - along Evanston Avenue (Broadway) filed suit against the stream-driven public transportation train called  'dummy' trains. The residents hated the noise because the engine freaked out the horses. The noisy trains were introduced by 1865. This original plank road was coined Dummy Road by local residents. Legend has it the Lake View District School #1 (Nettlehorst) was briefly referred to as Dummy School due to the location of the school along the roadway. The photo of the 'dummy' steam powered train in 1883 below.
Publc Transportation
 in 1872
The Roads in 1875
A Story on Paulina Street 
in 1881
More subdivisions would be constructed in the township 
From the back of this photo:
"The 1881 view of Paulina Street (1700 W) between Belle Plaine (4100 N) and Berteau Avenues (4200 N). Drainage ditches are being dug in the road, with plank crossovers at the intersections. There is a kerosene lamp-post in the middle of the block. The back of the photo states, "No longer was it necessary to hold a long piece of white chalk between the teeth or carry a lantern to find the way home at night when the moon did not shine."
from the Ravenswood–Lake View Community Collection
Also in 1881 Each township district could vote on some issues that matter to them exclusive. For example, the second district (that must have been located south of Belmont Avenue at the time) 
voted their district 'dry' not allowing liquor to be sold. 
The article below tells that tale ... along  other developments.
(click to enlarge)
1882  A geographical tavern border was established along Halsted Street - western area meant beer establishments while east of Halsted was to be dry - no taverns. Also 1882, saloon-keepers became an influential electoral group that had would have alot of influence in in future elections particularly in 1887.
Court Action 
in 1882
Broadway was once regarded as Dummy Road due to the name of the steam-powered public transportation used

All about Schools
A Council Meeting in 1883
  The 1883 
Township Directory
1883   
Real Estate is booming ...
from publication called Chicago: growth of a metropolis
photos - Gross Park on Henderson/Facebook
advertisement & cost of property along 
with another photo + narrative
Typical Township Council News in 1883
1884 The first historical society was formed with meetings held in Community of Ravenswood called the Ravenswood Historical Society. According a local historian Theodore Andreas, the society had plans to construct a public library on Sulzer (Montrose) and Commercial (Hermitage) Streets for the benefit of the local community and for themselves.
transportation rails approved on public streets
The township published an annual report about it's status for the year 1885 to March 1886 that included reports/letters from the township supervisor, treasurer, assessor, highway commissioners, town[ship] collector, physician, engineer, & clerk, public works superintendent, water rent collector, captain of police, and fire marshal.
photo Edgewater Historical Society
1885-89  John Lewis Cochran purchased vacant land to build a subdivision called 'Edgewater' east of Broadway and bounded by Bryn Mawr and Foster.  This was to be the first planned development to have paved streets, electric lighting, drainage system, street cleaning and tree trimming. In 1886, the first ten houses and a commercial building called the “Guild Hall” were built as well as a train station at Bryn Mawr that would connect south to Graceland Blvd (Irving Park Road) and the populous section of the township.
from Edgewater Historical Society
1886  The township only had 15 policeman and 9 firemen that year covering a territory from Devon to Fullerton Avenue, the
 existinglakefront west to Western Avenue. 
Map of the Township in 1887 
via David Ramsey Collection
 with zoomed views below
 Fullerton to Belmont Avenues
 Belmont to Wilson Avenues
and then Wilson to Devon Avenues
More Township News
from Chicago Daily Tribune:
An Accident Reported in 1876
Lake View High School Celebration
Domestic Problem
Toll Road News
Flourishing Neighborhood
Clam Bake Sale Planned
(probably at the Lake View House/Hotel)
The Year of 1887
Township Voters Say NO to 
Partial Annexation 
Lake View would have been annex in 1887 if it was not the desire by citizens to only annex part of the township south of Belmont Avenue. Instead the entire township voted for a city charter and won the election to be a city, per this September 1887 editorial. 
From a Township to a City 
in 1887
1887 map - Historic Map Works
1887  The township became a city; districts became wards - two alderman per ward with the 4 wards south of Belmont Avenue - the most densely populated area of the former township. The geographic size of the city must have been the largest in the in Illinois until the City of Lake View was annex by the City of Chicago in 1889
 Formation of city wards from township districts 1887
both images - Lake View Saga 
Also in 1887  The Council members of the City of Lake View approved rail lines for the North Chicago City Rail Line to build on their territory even though the company had be constructing the line on township land since 1861.
a sectional sheet view
1888  The first full service real estate office is established more or less replacing the old Lake View Hotel as the unofficial location to meet and negotiate for land purchases.
Note: 'truck garden' were farms used to transported their product to market. - Lake View Saga, Merlo Library
A Fire Department Tower in the Ravenswood area
Dieden Brothers Goods along Foster Avenue
There was annexation was attempted in 1887 
but a city status was voted for until 1889
 After the annexation the former City of Lake View was divided mostly into two Chicago wards, the 25th & 26th. The borders between the  wards were  basically Clark & Halsted Streets.
photo below - 1893 Rand McNally map edit
Township Properties
Elections were still important for the assessment 
of property any given township in 1894
Governmental Intergration issue 
in 1896
This article tells a tale of an integration issues to the City of Chicago after the annexation. Both Lake View and Jefferson townships were annexed at the same time in 1889. Apparently, the local officials of City of Lake View still controlled the water supply from Lake Michigan along with their crib and pumping station... 
44% Increase
by 1927
The Townships 
still have a
Below is a report for 2021
This local newspaper publishes property notices of townships in its geographical area
full page notice in 
this local paper
a sample notice below
This newspaper publishes deliquent notices per wards of dwellings in the Lake View Township district. Below is a incomplete listing for November 2023.
Sample of a Notice 


Post Notes:
Read more about the importance of townships 
particularly in the State of Illinois


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These posts are exclusively used for educational purposes. I do not wish to gain monetary profit from this blog nor should anyone else without permission for the original source - thanks!

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