The Important News
of Old Lake View
One of the local newspapers of the day
image - Ravenswood-Lake View Community Collection
Another Lake View Township map with link below
highlighting 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 (Addison 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
1887 Sanborn Fire Map location view
History of Cook County, Illinois
by A.T. Andreas 1884
image - Citizen Participation Institute
most of these positions have not changed since the early days of America's townships
THE TOWNSHIP TIMELINE
1854 A Chicago surveyor and real estate developer invest in the Township of Lake View with his Lake View friend Elisha Hundley marketing their 'resort house' to Chicagoans. Elisha's residence would be later coined by a visitor as one of first notable resorts/hotels in the mid 19th century besides the Lake View House/Hotel
1887 Sanborn Fire Map location view
Like the Lake View Hotel, this 'Inn' was meant to attracted Chicagoans to the new township that would be free of Chicago's regulations for vice and real estate transactions.
An Account of the BeginningsHistory of Cook County, Illinois
by A.T. Andreas 1884
"When a number of citizens principally residents of Andersonville and vicinity assembled at the school house which had lately been completed to make arrangements for holding the first township election of Lake View they had unconsciously perhaps commenced to make history for the future I.S. Shippy was moderator of that meeting and John Mauritzen clerk. It was resolved that the election be held April 7 1857 and that $175 be raised for town expenses. The old school house just mentioned still stands at the extreme northeasterly corner of the subdivision called Andersonville. There was something of a contest between Robert Edson and S.H. Kerfoot candidates for the office of Supervisor and both of them filed their certificates of election but Mr. Edson was finally successful. Sixty-four votes were cast. Supervisor Edson feeling no doubt elevated at his good proceeded to purchase the first record book of Lake View wherein to enter the doings of moment had transpired and those which were to happen exact time when Mr Edson reached down into his pocket to accomplish this matter is fixed by an which still appears on the fly leaf of the musty and which reads in this wise. Bought June 16 1857 by Robert Edson Supervisor of Lake View Township. Price $2.50 Dedicated to the Township Clerk of Lake View Township. The town then the township of Lake View was organized under its charter in February 1865. The act was approved by Governor Oglesby on the 16th of that month."
image - Citizen Participation Institute
most of these positions have not changed since the early days of America's townships
The Lake View Hotel.
This article below tells a tale of the first evening at the Lake View Hotel - the old Huntley House
1857 Lake View Township (p.709) was established on February 17th and then by election in April 17th in a school house in Andersonville with 64 male votes cast. Before that date the southern portion of Evanston Township and northern part of North Chicago Township were combined and known as Ridgeville Township (1850-1857). The townships were formed so to organize local administration and for the establishment of school districts. The first political districts were the following - the later to expand to seven districts by 1887 with the formation of Lake View as a city.
below image - Lake View Saga 1847-1985
The State of the Country at the Time
The Civil War:
1861-1865
Lake View's Camp Fry
(1864-1865)
image - LibGuides for Library Schools
Three states remained as slave states
Read more about
The Civil War:
1861-1865
Lake View's Camp Fry
(1864-1865)
Three states remained as slave states
“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 Song of Grant’s Soldiers from a 1864 Harper Weekly
Before war the area was known as Wrights Woods; during the war Camp Fry all once along
Diversey/Broadway/Clark intersection
Diversey/Broadway/Clark intersection
Township of Lake View in the Civil War
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.
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 muster camp that gathered and trained residents of the area and apparently was a POW camp during the
American Civil War. It was located at the intersection of Broadway Avenue (this
street was a simple wooden plank path called Lake View or Lake Shore Plank Road), Green Bay Road (Clark Street), and
Diversey (Avenue) Parkway – all known during this era as Wright Grove/Woods.
The Township of Lake View was established by the State of Illinois seven years
earlier in 1857.
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 could have been been involved in the the ‘Forrest's
Defense of Mississippi’ in June-August 1864. This series of battles wins
allowed the Union forces protection from Confederate raiders against 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.
Mustered pages that have 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
An Account of 156th Illinois Regiment
of Camp Fry by Stephen E. Osman
a Paper Albumin emailed to me in 2018
Camp Fry in Wright Woods/Grove
now the Diversey/Clark/Broadway intersection area
photo copy sent to me by Stephen E. Osman
(who is a Civil War historian from Minnesota)
The 156th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was a one-year
regiment and the last Illinois infantry unit raised for the Civil War. It was formed at Camp Fry in late February
and early March 1865. Once uniformed, equipped, armed and given some basic
drill instruction the regiment took trains to the Nashville area where it was
broken into small commands to guard the strategic railroads outside that
fortress city. The regiment returned to
Illinois in September to be mustered out. This paper albumin photograph
originated in the estate of Marcus L. Bosworth, a private in Company F. Inscribed on the back in very faded pencil is
Bosworth’s signature, “Company Picture” and “March 1865.” Company F was composed of many men from Kane
and Kankakee Counties; Bosworth himself was from Manteno. Following a January 19, 1865 order from
Illinois Governor Oglesby Camp Fry was designated an additional camp of
rendezvous, and recruits from the first, second, third and sixth congressional
districts were to muster there. There is little published information on the
mustering and service of this final 1865 unit.
But the Chicago Tribune has been digitized by the Library of Congress
on their Chronicling America website. A
search for 156th Illinois, and then Camp Fry confirmed their service
there. On the evening of March 15, 1865,
the nearly 1,000 men of the 156th marched out of Camp Fry in a pouring
rainstorm to begin their six months of service in the south. The barrack in the background was no doubt
occupied by Company F. Each vertical
board and batten wood frame quarters for a 100-man company had a tar-paper roof
and no insulation. Inside were triple
tier bunks, each shared by two men, plus tables and benches. Poorly heated by
coal stoves, the barracks must have been drafty and miserable in late winter
1865. Most of the men are still wearing
their overcoats in this early March photo.
Surprisingly many appear to be wearing mounted pattern boots rather than
the laced ankle bootie typically issued to infantrymen. Their uniforms and equipment are new; canteen
straps have not yet been shortened and only a couple men have substituted felt
hats for the just issued forage cap.
Only two men carry their muskets and they were probably detailed for
armed service that day but wanted to be in the photo with their comrades. The company officers – Captain Henry J. Allen
probably flanked by Lieutenants William E. Craib and Narcisse Reeves – are
front and center. Scholars are fortunate that one private in that company saved
this unique photograph that documents the Civil War camp in Wright’s Grove –
now the intersection of Clark, Broadway & Diversey.
Other News
Between the years 1859-64 several cemeteries were established along Green Bay Road (Clark Street).
Rose Hill Cemetery was the first.
Rose Hill Cemetery was the first.
a view of the Northwestern Railroad lines leading to the entrance of RoseHill cemetery. Other cemeteries would be established in the 1860's that would include Graceland, Boniface, and others along this railway or Clark Street.
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. During the
Civil War a military muster (recruitment camp) was established in the area of
Diversey, Clark, and Broadway Avenues at the once Wright Grove subdivision
called Camp Fry. It also served as a stockade for Confederate POWs from 1864 to
the end of the war. The steam engine 'dummy' a form of steam powered means of
public transportation replaces the horse drawn carriage on Evanston Avenue only
to be reverted back to horse drawn after years of public dissatisfaction.
1865 Lake View
Township was finally a functional chartered entity with elected township
officials.
1866 The Board of
Health was established as well as the police force consisting of 4 constables.
1868 Ravenswood
Land Company plans an upper class development along Little Fort Road (Lincoln Avenue).
Also, 1868 a well-known conservative newspaper,
Chicago Tribune, article reported acts of drunken "debauchery" in
German beer gardens. The most famous beer garden in the late 19th and early
20th centuries in the city was the Bismarck Gardens established in 1892 located
on the corner of Halsted, Broadway, and Grace Avenues.
photo - University of Alabama Digital Maps
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 with a map of the township for that year.
The population of the township was 1,841 folks.
1871 General civic discussion in the town
Also, 1871 petitions for street improvements
The Great Chicago Fire stops just beyond the border with Chicago on the north side of Fullerton Avenue.
Note: Reference to 'town' in articles meant 'township'.
1871 October 8th through the 10th of that monthThe Great Chicago Fire stops just beyond the border with Chicago on the north side of Fullerton Avenue.
The shaded area indicate the fires reach - 1871 map
University of Chicago Digital Map Collection, zoomed
photo via Chicagology
An Account of the Fire
In 1911 'The Story of Chicago' by Jenne Hall was published. Her book about the City of Chicago as she knew it was also about the fire she knew first hand.
She devoted an entire chapter on the fire.
This book is part of my personal collection
The only house aflamed in the township
University of Chicago Digital Map Collection, zoomed
An Account of the Fire
In 1911 'The Story of Chicago' by Jenne Hall was published. Her book about the City of Chicago as she knew it was also about the fire she knew first hand.
She devoted an entire chapter on the fire.
The only house aflamed in the township
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
(north of 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 destroyed - the only house destroyed in Lake View Township.
The Day After
The following is another account 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 and the book is part of my collection
1873 Establishment of Lake View Township (Civic) building to be later referred to as The Town Hall and later in the 20th century the 46th district police district. Police and the post office were located in the same building. Also in that year, township residents discussed annexation to the City of Chicago 16 years before the official annexation of 1889. That meeting was so disorganized that the group could not appoint a permanent chairman for future meetings.
1893 photo - Art Institute of Chicago
This building housed the post office, police, township/city council
enlarge photo without the staircase
University of Illinois-Urban/Champaign
a 1887 Sanborn Fire Map of the area
University of Illinois-Urban/Champaign
Caption: "Town Hall of the former city of Lake View:
Built in 1872 at a cost of seventeen thousand dollars, corner Addison and
Halsted streets. Photograph taken by A. W. Watriss". From text: "The
name of the Township of Ridgeville was changed to Evanston on February 17th,
1857, accompanied by a change of boundaries. Lakeview Township, formerly a part
of Ridgeville Township, was at the same time created, and has since been
included within the city limits of Chicago."
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 Parkway.
Ravenswood Pioneer Grocery
in the Community of Ravenswood in1874
P.L. Miller Fancy Groceries and Meat Market
corner of Foster and Wolcott Avenues - 1860's?
.jpg)
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."
Lake View had a Glee Club 1875
1875 A Storm and the Taverns
(click to enlarge article)
(click to enlarge article)
(click to enlarge article)
page 2
image - Ebay
Teachers Code of Conduct 1875
1876 Mention of a baseball team called the
Brown Stockings & a new community called Summerdale located north of Foster Avenue
View article below for more
page 2
also in 1876
Social Happenings
1876 The significant railroad stations along the Chicago & Milwaukee within the township were the Belle Plaine, Ravenswood, and Rose Hill per this David Rumsey Collection map that can be enlarged.
Most of the above photos are either 1888 or 1890
Township Rules in 1879
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 an album on 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.
Note: there are more pages but not posted here
view title link above
1880 The residents of Pine Grove (subdivision) along Evanston Avenue (Broadway) filed suite 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 called Dummy School due to the location of the school along the roadway.
The 'dummy' in 1883
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
- from the Ravenswood–Lake View Community Collection
Also in 1881 Each township district could vote on some issues that matter to them. 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 ... among other developments.
The word 'town' in all articles refers to 'township'.
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 + a narrative
Typical Township Council News 1883
advertisement & cost of property along
with another photo + a narrative
Typical Township Council News 1883
1884 The first historical society was formed during this time period 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 community and themselves.
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, it was 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).
- Edgewater Historical Society
map of the township in 1887
via David Ramsey Collection
zoomed views below
Fullerton to Belmont Avenues
Belmont to Wilson Avenues
and then Wilson to Devon Avenues
Township to Annexation - No
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.
1887 map - Historic Map Works
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 The township became a city; districts became wards - two alderman per ward with the 4 wards south of Belmont Avenue - the most densely populated. 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
All the township communities would become city communities or subdivisions until annexation of 1889.
both images - Lake View Saga - Merlo Library
1887 David Rumsey Map
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 without permission from local authorities. View these two maps of Lake View that year with this link from the David Rumsey Collection and this link from Historical Atlas that has a sheet by sheet view of the area.
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. - Lakeview Saga, Merlo Library
A Fire Department Tower in the Ravenswood area
Dieden Brothers Goods along Foster Avenue
From City to Annexation to Chicago
1889 Before the annexation of the City of Lake View, the State of Illinois legislated The Sanitary District Enabling Act of May 29, 1889, established the a district with the purpose of managing water supply and waste-water issues. The two most important early projects included the reversal of the Chicago River, designed to carry waste water away from Lake Michigan, and the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal which aided in the flow of water out of Lake Michigan. (The project was completed by 1900)
This legislation (clean water) would have been in the minds of some enlightened voters of Lake View when residents voted for annexation that November.
After the annexation the former City of Lake View was divided into two Chicago wards, the 25th & 26th. The borders between the wards was Clark & Halsted Streets.
photo below - 1893 Rand McNally map edit
A Post Annexation issue in 1896
While this Chicago Tribune article was published after the annexation of Lake View this article does tell a tale of integration of townships that the city annexed that year. Both Lake View and Jefferson Township were annexed the same year. Apparently, the officials of Lake View still controlled the water supply from their Lake Michigan along with their crib and pumping station. This issue almost start a major problem for the City of Chicago per this article below ...
The Northwest Corner
These photos were provided by a historical site called
Living History of Chicago & Illinois-Facebook. While these photos were apparently taken in 1914 one can only image the openness of the area during the 19th century - its vastness. Devon and Western avenues was the northwest corner border of the Township/City of Lake View 1857-1889
with the X marks the spot with the German Orphanage
to the right of the map
with the X marks the spot
photo below - Ravenswood-Lake View Community Collection, via Explore Chicago Collection
After the annexation of 1889 the newly formed District
of Lake View was still regarded rural north of Irving Park Road (Graceland Avenue). This 1891 winter scene highlights a forest of trees at the intersections of Broadway (Evanston Avenue), North Sheridan Road (Sheffield), and Montrose.
Memories of Old Lake View in 1928
Post Notes:
Read more about the importance of townships in the
United States particularly in the State of Illinois.
Important Note:
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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