Local History

Note: This section of the website is a work in progress.

The Origins of North Chicago

North Chicago began as a very small trading post near the banks of Lake Michigan.  In the 1840s, a family of American settlers by the name of Pettibone built a remote encampment at the mouth of a creek.  They gave their name to this creek, which still runs from Sheridan and 24^th in North Chicago into the Great Lakes Marina.  The trading post consisted of a small store, a mill with a dam, and a handful of rough cabins.  Over time, other families joined them to create a small farming community.

In 1891, a group of businessmen from both Chicago and Detroit began buying up the farmland that ran along the border between the Waukegan and Shields Townships.  In fact, on January 1st, 1891, the price of farmland in the area went from $80 per acre to a whopping $500!  These businessmen had a plan, and they quickly laid out the town that was to become North Chicago.  They divided up the area into 15,000 parcels that sold for around $40 per half acre.  A local realtor named C.E. Suylor marketed the new town, known as South Waukegan, as a manufacturing business haven and a temperance town.  His slogan: “No Saloon!”

The town quickly grew.  The first lumber yard was put in on the corner of Davis and Morrow.  Lanyon Zinc Oxide Company (later Vulcan Louisville Zincworks) and Morrow Brothers Harnesses promptly opened factories, bringing new residents to the area.  The first church, the Union Church for the People, was built around this time on Lincoln Ave.

The Chicago and North Western railway built a depot in 1892, putting North Chicago on the map. This train stop quickly became a hub for the growing town.  That year, a hotel was built close to the depot. Dr. W.W. Hartman opened the first doctor’s office shortly thereafter.  A school was put in at Commonwealth and 15th.  By the end of the year, a crosswalk had to be built in front of the hotel so that pedestrians could maneuver through town without muddying their shoes.

In 1895 North Chicago incorporated as a village, with R. Morrow as the first president.  Two years later, John Sherwin and E.P. Sedgwick founded the Chicago Hardware Foundry, which made cast iron and aluminum goods.  The company grew and became an influential presence in North Chicago for the next half a century.  E.P. Sedgwick served as Village President in 1901, and John Sherwin became the first Mayor of North Chicago when it incorporated as a town in 1908.

History of the North Chicago Public Library

The origins of North Chicago Public Library took root in 1894 when a group of public-spirited citizens formed a club. There were around fifteen members in the club, including Mesdames Tomlinson, R. H. Morrow, J. Robinson, T. Scott, F. Ganse, and T.H. McKinney. They met at the homes of various members at least once a month to read books and discuss current events. Mrs. Tomlinson, the president, gave the club the north room of the Land Association building to use as a reading room and opened it to the public Mrs. Tomlinson worked to get books for the reading room and received many generous donations from her relatives in the East. The books were written by the most respected authors of the time and were greatly appreciated by the community.

The library club was gifted an unused building by a local engineering company shortly after this, which became the first library in North Chicago. The first librarians in North Chicago included Margaret O’Keefe and Katie House who volunteered to work Saturday evenings and after school certain days of the week.

By 1908 interest in the organization had died down, and a number of women in town were compelled to create a literary society, and the Philomathian Club was formed. The women would meet once a month and discuss subjects such as history, music, poetry, and art. This club would financially maintain the library, raising funds to pay for materials and the salary of librarian Mrs. Stroh, who was paid $20.00 a month for her time. As North Chicago grew in size, demands for a public library grew with it, and by 1916 a tax was levied for a city library. It was at this time that a regular board was appointed and the Philomathian Club was relieved of its responsibilities. The library was moved into a room in city hall until 1928, when it moved into its former location on 1645 Lincoln St, in the building that is now the Mosaic Club.

The North Chicago Public Library moved into its current location on 2100 Argonne on November 12th, 1989. It received its first major renovation with funding from the AbbVie corporation in 2017.