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
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
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 for vice and real estate transactions.
1887 Sanborn Fire Map location view of it
An Account of the Beginnings
History of Cook County, Illinois
by A.T. Andreas 1884
image - Citizen Participation Institute
most of these positions have not changed
1887 Sanborn Fire Map location view of it
History 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
Chronological Developments:
1854 A Chicago surveyor and real estate developer invested in the Township of Lake View with his Lake View friend Elisha Hundley marketed their 'resort house' to Chicagoans. 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.
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
at the Time
The nation was in the midst of a Recession
that would last almost three more years
The Civil War:
1861-1865
Lake View's Camp Fry
(1864-1865)
image - LibGuides for Library Schools
Three states remained as slave states within the United States
The Civil War:
1861-1865
Lake View's Camp Fry
(1864-1865)
Three states remained as slave states within the United States
The Song of Grant’s Soldiers from a 1864 Harper Weekly
Read more about
“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!”
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 'mustering camp' that gathered and trained residents of the area and apparently later became a POW at the tail end of the war. It was generally located at the intersection of Broadway (this
street was a simple wooden plank path initially called Lake Shore Plank Road), Green Bay Road (Clark Street), and
Diversey (Avenue) Parkway – all known during this period in time as Wright Woods.
Wrightwood Avenue was get its name from this area.
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 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
postcard - Library of Congress
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
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 an 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 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
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.
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 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
University of Chicago Digital Map Collection, zoomed
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
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.
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
University of Illinois-Urban/Champaign - unknown date
In 1873 March
a 1894 zoomed view below
postcard - Ebay
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.
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?
.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."
Snippet of News in 1874:
Property Sales
and School News
Say NO to Taverns
Tax Revenues
and Election News
No Cattle Allowed at Large
Board of Trustee Decisions
Lake View had a Glee Club by 1875
1875 A Storm and those Taverns
(click to enlarge article)
(click to enlarge article)
Population almost four thousand
Teachers Code of Conduct 1875
Snippet of News in 1876
Gossip Tells All
1876 Street Opened to the Public
(Dummy Road = Broadway)
1876
(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 April
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.
The Means of Publc Transportation in 1872
The Roads in 1875
Court Action in 1882
A Council Meeting in 1883
A Council Meeting 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 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.
1883 Real Estate is booming ...
from publication called Chicago: growth of a metropolis
Typical Township Council News in 1883
photos - Gross Park on Henderson/Facebook
advertisement & cost of property along
with another photo + narrative
advertisement & cost of property along
with another photo + narrative
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.
Report from the Township 1885-86
(a pdf file)
(a pdf file)
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
An Accident Reported in 1876
(probably at the Lake View House/Hotel)
The Year of 1887
Township Voters Say NO to 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.
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 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 Assessing
Elections were still important for the assessment
of property any given township
Governmental Intergration issue in 1896
This article tells a tale of an integration issues to the city form of government years after annexation. Both Lake View and Jefferson townships were annexed at the same time in 1889. Apparently, the local officials of Lake View still controlled the water supply from Lake Michigan along with their crib and pumping station...
The Township is still Assessing
and posting notices
as of 2022
our local paper
a sample notice
The Northwest Corner of Old Lake View
These photos were apparently taken in 1914: one can only image the openness of the area during this time period - its vastness and emptiness. These photos record the edges of old Lake View.
Devon and Western avenues were the northwest corner border of the Township/City of Lake View 1857-1889
photo below
via Living History of Chicago & Illinois-Facebook
with the X marks the spot with the German Orphanage
- right of the map
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 and vast north of Irving Park Road which at time was called Graceland Avenue. This 1891 winter scene highlights a forest of trees at the intersections of Broadway (Evanston Avenue), Sheridan Road, and Montrose Avenue
Memories of Old Lake View in 1928
Post Notes:
Read more about the importance of townships
particularly in the State of Illinois
Please follow me to my next post called
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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