About Oak Park's Origins

Global Position: 41:53:06N 087:47:04W

Located just west of Chicago Illinois' Austin neighborhood Oak Park is bordered by the sister communities of Cicero/Berwyn to the south, Chicago, Elmwood Park to the North and River Forest/Forest Park to the west. Over 54,000 people live in Oak Park's 3 1/2 square miles. While it has mostly single family homes, Oak Park has many apartments and condominiums.

Pictured here is the Ernest Hemingway home.

Oak Park lies on top of the shore of the ancient, glacial "Lake Chicago." The long arm of beach gravel and sand that formed between Lake Chicago and the Desplaines Bay is known as the "Oak Park Spit." Since the land was once covered by oak trees it was originally named Oak Ridge. This was the land of the Pottowatomie, Sac and Fox Indians.

In 1835 Joseph and Betty Kettlestrings, who came from Yorkshire, England, built a small frame house near Lake and Harlem made with lumber from the saw mill that drew them to the area. Since the Kettlestrings farm was the only habitation between the small growing town of Chicago and the Desplaines River, it became a "tavern" and the Kettlestrings charged 50 cents for supper, bed and breakfast.

The quarter section that the Kettlestrings staked was known as a series of names including Kettlestrings Grove, Oak Ridge, and Harlem. Kettlestrings continued to sell off parcels of the large land holdings to people who followed the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad (1848), the first train to run west of Chicago. The railway station was named Oak Park to match the post office. The post office had this name because the name of Oak Ridge was already taken. Oak Park became the official name of the area which was still unincorporated and officially part of Cicero Township until 1902.

The Chicago Fire of 1871 created a boom development as Chicago residents left the city to build in the suburbs. The population was about 500 the year of the fire and was listed at 4,589 in 1890.

For even more information visit the Oak Park Tourist site at http://www.oprf.org