Blue Island Historical Society

10/06/2026

Check out these great resources on our website to research the history of your family, your home, and so much more about Blue Island!

The Blue Island Historical Society brings together those people interested in history, especially in the history of Blue Island and neighboring communities. The Society works to discover and collect any material that helps to establish or illustrate the history of the area; its exploration, settleme...

10/02/2026

Learn more about the history of this chapel and its namesake, Willis N. Rudd, at our Mount Greenwood Cemetery Tour on October 24! Tickets are available online and at the event: https://blue-island-historical-society.square.site/events

09/30/2026

A very limited number of seats are still available for our Halloween Tea! Reserve your spot(s) online now: https://bihistoricalsociety.org/featured_item/halloween-tea-2026/

09/30/2026

This Sunday, October 4 at 2 pm: The Blue Island Brewmasters take on the Chicago Salmon Vintage Base Ball Club at historic Memorial Park in their final match of the 2026 season! Don't miss a great game of vintage base ball with delicious food available to purchase from Bizarro & Son.

09/29/2026

In the background of this photo taken c.1920, you can see the back of Blue Island’s post office and houses on Artesian (named Henry Street until 1929) and Vermont. Using these clues and a few others, we've concluded it was almost certainly taken in the backyard of 2440 Grove Street, seen in the first contemporary photo in this post.

We believe the people in this photo were members of the Jebsen family (the two adults standing were likely Bernhardt and Augusta), who lived in the home just off the northwest corner of Grove and Henry in the 1920s and 1930s. The photographs are part of a collection recently donated to us by Dylan Skora containing images of the Jebsen and Moss families in Blue Island.

09/17/2026

Construction of the original Burr Oak Avenue (127th Street) viaduct over the Rock Island railroad yard was completed in 1892, after the City of Blue Island passed an ordinance in 1891 requiring the railroad to build it. An effort was also made by the City to have the railroad construct a similar bridge over its tracks at Vermont Street - of course, it remains a grade crossing to this day.

By December of 1936, this structure was so dilapidated and dangerous that it was condemned and closed to traffic for nearly four years. The first three photos (donated to us by Dylan Skora) show the old viaduct in 1939, not long before it was demolished and replaced. A new viaduct was opened in June of 1940.

09/12/2026

The sound equipment is nearly ready to go and tickets are still available online or at the door for tonight’s Backyard Concert with Ms. Sassy & the Blues Power Band! Food and drinks are included with admission: https://blue-island-historical-society.square.site/events

WHEN: TONIGHT, September 12 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: The Ward & Florence Seyfarth House, 2523 High Street

09/12/2026

Tickets are still available online or at the door for tonight’s Backyard Concert with Ms. Sassy & the Blues Power Band! Food and drinks are included with admission: https://blue-island-historical-society.square.site/events

WHEN: TONIGHT, September 12 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: The Ward & Florence Seyfarth House, 2523 High Street