Highland Park Historical Society

Highland Park Historical Society The Society's mission is to preserve and make accessible the the Community's rich history through research, programs, exhibits, and museums.

With the taking place, it seems a good time to bring out the plat of the plat of the Town of Port Clinton, 1852. Som...
08/29/2026

With the taking place, it seems a good time to bring out the plat of the plat of the Town of Port Clinton, 1852. Some street names have changed. For example, Maria Street residents successfully petitioned to change the street name to Port Clinton Road in 1932. Roslyn Lane and Edgecliff(e) replaced Clark and Broad Way by ordinance in 1923, inter alia. Some original homes survive on Bloom Street and environs, generally with significant alterations.

Jacob Clinton Bloom (1815-1890) founded the town with significant collaboration from the Steele family (four brothers). Born in Canada, Bloom lived and worked in Waukegan, St. Joseph, MI and Michigan City, IN after selling the property to the Port Clinton Land Company, 1853. He remained a shareholder. However (infamously), Walter Gurnee became a sole shareholder; and, sold the company and more to the folks we know as the Highland Park Building Company.

N.B. A.B. Bloom is likely Atassa Maria Bloom (née Porter) who later went by Mara A. Bloom (1815-1890)

08/21/2026

Next month, we will mark 25 years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that forever changed our nation. Many community members' lives were touched by the September 11 attacks, and as we approach this milestone, the City invites you to share your own experience and memories with the community. Visit cityhpil.com/september11 for more information and to submit your comments.

We welcome reflections from community members, including:
- Where you were and what you remember from September 11, 2001
- How the events affected you and your family, personally or professionally
- Experiences serving as a first responder, member of the military, volunteer, or community supporter
- Memories of someone whose life or service was connected to September 11
- Reflections on how our country came together following the attacks
- Thoughts on what September 11 means to you 25 years later

Please share your feedback through the form at cityhpil.com/september11. You may upload a document or type directly into the form. Additionally, you may upload photographs or artwork through the form.

Contributions from community members and City of Highland Park staff will be on display at City Hall throughout the month of September.

Additionally, please save the date for the City's September 11 25th Anniversary Observance, which will be held on Friday, September 11, at Bennett Gordon Hall at Ravinia Festival. The program will remember those who were killed and injured, and honor those who responded to the call for aid, especially first responders from Highland Park and Highwood. The Highland Park Fire Department will lead the Last Alarm Bell Ceremony as part of a program including remarks by Mayor Rotering, Chief of Police Lou Jogmen, Fire Chief Joe Schrage, and Deputy Fire Chief Bill Brennan, who provided mutual aid in New York City. Tom Finnegan of the Shannon Rovers Pipe Band will perform. The ceremony will be presented by the City of Highland Park in partnership with Ravinia Festival, NSSD 112, TSHD 113, the Highland Park Public Library, the Park District of Highland Park, and NSSRA.

While the dwelling, buildings and land at 147 Central were originally and most recently a private home, did you know tha...
08/17/2026

While the dwelling, buildings and land at 147 Central were originally and most recently a private home, did you know that the Cornelius Field family's time in Highland Park was short before they returned to New York?

Circa 1889 the prep school Sylvan Dells was formed, founded by principal William H. Russell (1834-1923). The location and layout by the Highland Park Building Company provided for a spectrum of preparatory instruction. Sylvan Dells evolved to boys only and completed a merge with the Northwestern Military Academy in 1908. Principal Russell's daughters continued teaching at the school and "Russell Hall" served as the home and classrooms for the younger students.

The 1898 Encyclopedia Britannica cited the public high school, Sylvan Dells, and Northwestern as the key Highland Park schools.
The main school building, designed by William W. Boyington to replace the earlier home destroyed by fire in 1897, was destroyed by fire in 1915. The school did not rebuild in Highland Park, but continued to develop its Wisconsin facilities. St. John's Northwestern Military Academy is now located in Deerfield, Wisconsin.

*Newspapers often referred to the neighborhood as Sylvan Dells. When the newlyweds Harriet and Henry Clark built their (now demolished) home just west of the school in 1899 they dubbed it Sylvan dells.

Document citations. The Chicago Blue Book of Selected Names of Chicago And Suburban Towns. Chicago: The Chicago directory company, 1890. Northwestern Military Academy (Highland Park, Ill.). Northwestern Military Academy. Highland Park, Ill.: The Academy, 1908. : Cement World. Chicago: Cement World Co, v2, 1908. Via Hathitrust.

An example of Samuel Levin's work-- the stones represent the 12 tribes of Israel --for Royal Arch Mason Albert Marshall...
08/16/2026

An example of Samuel Levin's work-- the stones represent the 12 tribes of Israel --for Royal Arch Mason Albert Marshall (?). Engraving on verso reads "Presented by Highland Park Chapter No. 226 R.A.M.* Dec. 16."

According to the 1920 census, Levin (1864-1923) was born in Prussia and his native language was Hebrew. Levin, along with his wife Catherine (née Bender) (1869-1961) and son Lester (1892-1962) moved from Iowa to Highland Park at the end of the 19th century. The family was active in the Masonic orders and the Christian Science Church.

*The Royal Arch Mason is the highest level of the York Rites and necessary to join the Knights Templar. Masons, both Scottish and York Rites, played an important role in the the suburb's development. Many early leaders were involved in both lodges. Highland Park R.A.M. Chapter No. 226 merged with the Libertyville lodge in 1991. The Royal Arch Mason is the highest level of York Rites and necessary to join the Knights Templar.

We have featured this artifact previously. However, given the recent discussion of the store we are re-sharing. Accession no. 70.234 Donated by Ms. E. Jordan.

The verso of the #1926 Ravinia Programs features and advertisement for the newly completed Deere Park, sometimes calle...
08/07/2026

The verso of the #1926 Ravinia Programs features and advertisement for the newly completed Deere Park, sometimes called Deere Park Terrace.
The Ravinia Opera performance featured Lucrezia Bori (1887-1960) as Norina in Gaetano's Donzetti's opera buffo, "Don Pasquale."
Photo credit: Lucrezia Bori as Norina in Don Pasquale,” Digital Collections - University at Buffalo Libraries

"Next to the dandelion, far from the stream, stood and tomato empty can, upside down. Twig found it yesterday, out in th...
08/02/2026

"Next to the dandelion, far from the stream, stood and tomato empty can, upside down. Twig found it yesterday, out in the alley. Somebody had thrown it away. There were pictures of bright red tomatoes all round it, and there was a place at the side of it where somebody's can opener had made a mistake. When it was upside down, it looked like a little house--with the can opener's mistake for its door. It looked just the right size for a fairy."*

Elizabeth Orton Jones (1910-2005) was born, grew up and set up her first studio on Vine in Highland Park. She won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for illustrations in 1945. She wrote the text and illustrated "Twig", a true fairy tale.

Twig was Orton's nickname, both in childhood and as an adult.

Orton gave these original Twig and her elf friend (who lured her into the tomato can fairy world) dolls to the publishing company for the 21st century reprinting of this 1942. There was also a 1960s reissue. The publisher has donated these charming dolls to the Historical Society.

Jones, Elizabeth Orton. Twig. 1st pbk. ed, Purple House Press, 2001.
Photos courtesy

George F. Nixon (1892-1975) bought and sold more than 5,000 acres and built at least 3,000 Chicagoland homes, including ...
07/27/2026

George F. Nixon (1892-1975) bought and sold more than 5,000 acres and built at least 3,000 Chicagoland homes, including multiple sub-divisions in Highland Park. Advertisements in the 1925 Highland Park Press advertise homes and lots along the new Skokie Valley Electric line. Nixon was a founder of the National Association of Home Builders. His imprint can be found in many Chicagoland communities, especially Westchester and Northfield.

According to real estate publications, S. S. [Sebastian Spering] Kresge (1867-1966) bought The Fair Store from the Lehmann family in 1925. Kresge sought a partner, selecting Nixon, for this new department store real estate venture.

The street address has changed, but this model home still sits at the corner of Southland and Eastwood Avenues. Intriguingly, the developer’s father and mother, George A. (1873-1944) and Julia Heintz (1872-1949) Nixon, occupied the home from the late 1920s until their deaths. (They also had a home in Chicago.) Doubly intriguing, the private home served at as a polling place and George A. served as an election judge multiple times in the 1930s and 1940s. George A. worked for the steam railway, according to the 1940 United States Census.

Gustave Mahler (1860-1911) called the 1835 opera "La Juive" ("The Jewess") one of the greatest operas ever written when ...
07/24/2026

Gustave Mahler (1860-1911) called the 1835 opera "La Juive" ("The Jewess") one of the greatest operas ever written when he staged a revival in Vienna in 1903 . The Met revived it 100 years later. Louis Eckstein (1935) staged it yearly at Ravinia in the 1920s*.
Composer Fromental Halévy (1799-1862) was celebrated by both the public and critics in his lifetime. Most opera fans will recognize his librettist, Eugène Scribe (1791-1861). Scribe also crafted lyrics for Auer, Donizetti, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, and Verdi.
Scribe's libretto for Giacomo Meyerbeer's "The Huguenots" also depicts and assails religious intolerance.

Ravinia Festival #1926

07/23/2026

Tomorrow, we gather where history happened.

Join the Eastland Disaster Historical Society as we commemorate the 111th anniversary of the Eastland Disaster.

Friday, July 24
12:00-12:30 p.m.
Chicago Riverwalk at Clark Street

The ceremony will include remarks from descendants, participation by the United States Coast Guard, and a commemorative wreath presentation honoring the 844 lives lost.

Our special guest includes:
Robert Patrick Conlon, author of Celtic Knot, a historical novel inspired by his grandfather's experiences in early Chicago. Bob will also be signing books following the ceremony after appearing on WGN Morning News earlier that morning.

Help us remember.

Address

P. O. Box 331
Highland Park, IL
60035

Telephone

(847) 432-7090

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