Kevin Barron

Lemont

9781467160582

$24.99

Located within the Des Plaines River valley in Illinois, Lemont became a village in 1873. The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened transportation opportunities and led to the discovery of dolomite limestone (known locally as Athens marble). Quarrying limestone became Lemont’s leading industry, and it was used for buildings throughout the region, including Chicago’s famous Water Tower. Canal workers made Lemont a capital of vice in the 1890s with bars and brothels located in the area known as Smokey Row. Downtown Lemont boasts well-preserved commercial buildings from this period. Historic homes and church steeples are nestled into the valley bluff, reflecting the community’s devotion to faith, civic pride, and traditions such as the Keepataw Parade. Today, the area’s industrial past is being rediscovered and repurposed for recreational uses in its quarries and along miles of trails that connect Lemont to the rest of the region.

Cover image for Lemont, isbn: 9781467160582

Harrison G Fillmore

Chicago Catholic Churches

9781467151726

$21.99

It began as the hobby of a lifelong Chicagoan. Twenty-five years and more than three hundred freehand church sketches later, it acts as an archive for centuries of architectural and religious history. The pen-and-ink drawings meticulously capture the details of each individual church down to the bullet holes Al Capone’s hit men put in the façade of Holy Name Cathedral. The comprehensive collection also includes structures that were razed or repurposed, their memories lost save for the loyal parishioners who remember their roots. From St. Adalbert to St. Willibrord, Harrison Fillmore traces the unmistakable profiles of Chicago’s Catholic churches into a single gallery of heartfelt art.

Cover image for Chicago Catholic Churches, isbn: 9781467151726

Cynthia L. Ogorek

Hegewisch

9781467160667

$24.99

Founded in 1884 as the company town of the United States Rolling Stock Company, Hegewisch became Chicago’s most remote and isolated neighborhood in 1889. Surrounded by waterways and railroads, the community even today is mistakenly considered an independent town. In order to gain amenities that other neighborhoods seemed to take for granted, Hegewisch often went toe to toe with bureaucrats who in some instances claimed it was not even a part of Chicago due to its remote location. In the 1970s, the city allowed landfills to burgeon on Hegewisch’s outskirts and then threatened to replace the entire neighborhood with an airport in 1989. The resilience of Hegewisch in the face of big business and politics has given it a history unique in the annals of Chicago and the Calumet Region.

Cover image for Hegewisch, isbn: 9781467160667

Kenneth J. Schoon

Pullman

9781467149860

$21.99

George Pullman's legacy lies in the town that bears his name. As one of the first thoroughly planned model industrial communities, it was designed to give the comforts of a permanent home to the employees who built America's most elegant form of overnight railroad travel. But the town was more than just a residential wing of sleeper car manufacturing; its 1894 railroad strike led to the national Labor Day holiday. In the early twentieth century, the Pullman Company became the country's largest employer of African Americans, who then formed the nation's first successful Black labor union. Author Kenneth Schoon revisits Pullman's monumental history and the lessons it continues to provide.

Cover image for Pullman, isbn: 9781467149860

Katharine Korte Andrew

The Village of Lincolnwood

9781467108140

$23.99

Settled in the late 1830s and incorporated as Tessville in 1917, Lincolnwood was founded by emigrants from Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, the United Kingdom, and multiple other European countries. From a prairie land, these European arrivals created a small-town rural community filled with greenhouses and restaurants. During Prohibition, Tessville gained an air of infamy as a haven for gambling dens and speakeasies. However, with the election of Mayor Henry A. Proesel in 1931, the village set out to restore its image. Aided by the construction of the Edens Expressway, the area saw a boom in real estate, education, and industry, growing into the Chicago suburb that is today’s Lincolnwood. Over the last quarter-century, many families moved to the suburbs, leading to the diverse community that Lincolnwood has become.

Cover image for The Village of Lincolnwood, isbn: 9781467108140

John R. Schmidt

Authentic Chicago

9781467154918

$24.99

Discover the history most Chicagoans don’t know---the real Chicago Way. The Windy City is full of forgotten landmarks and unusual stories that rarely get the benefit of a guided tour. Meet the African-American congressman who paved the way for Harold Washington and Barack Obama, the South Side Jewish girl who became the president of a South American country, and the visiting Romanian queen who charmed the city. Learn when Chicagoans were paid to smile, how furniture sprouts on Windy City streets after a blizzard and why Smell-O-Vision seemed like a good idea. From an in-city ski resort to the nation’s greatest train robbery, author John R. Schmidt offers a glimpse of the overlooked scenery of Chicago’s past.

Cover image for Authentic Chicago, isbn: 9781467154918

Wayne Klatt

Streeterville

9781467151573

$24.99

Meet the Chicagoans who had the vision -- or the chicanery -- to turn a worthless marsh into the amazing cityscape that is modern Streeterville. The towering buildings between beautiful Lake Michigan and Chicago's Magnificent Mile didn't just happen. Follow the development from mud and sand to office towers and exclusive residences. The cast includes Cap'n Streeter, real estate genius Potter Palmer, developer Jerrold Wexler, and architect Mies van der Rohe, as well as activists who fought against development. Author Wayne Klatt traces the evolution of the Streeterville neighborhood from lake shore mansions, through a postwar fallow period, and then to an energetic burst of construction that gave Chicago its new downtown.

Cover image for Streeterville, isbn: 9781467151573

Jo Fredell Higgins

Woodridge

9781467108409

$23.99

Centuries ago, members of the Potawatomie tribe lived along the beautiful DuPage River on lands that would later become the village of Woodridge. Situated on high ground populated by wide strands of oaks and maples, this land was rich in natural beauty. The modern history of Woodridge began on farmlands that became home to people who emigrated from Alsace-Lorraine, Bavaria, and Prussia. Woodridge was incorporated on August 24, 1959, when the village had 500 residents. Today, it is a prosperous and progressive community with over 33,000 residents. The area is resplendent in its history as well as its present-day caring and thoughtfulness, and Woodridge has been fortunate to have astute leadership, including Mayor Gina Cunningham and Village of Woodridge administrator Al Stonitsch.

Cover image for Woodridge, isbn: 9781467108409

Jim Ridings

Cardiff

9781467160759

$24.99

The discovery of a rich coal vein in northeast Livingston County, Illinois, in 1899 turned an open prairie into the large coal mining town of Cardiff within months. An explosion in the mine in 1903 that killed nine men looked like it might be the end of the mine and the town, but another mine shaft was sunk, and the town grew bigger than ever. However, the quality of the coal ran out in 1912. This time it was the end. The mine closed, and the buildings were transported elsewhere. The only thing left of Cardiff was its ghost town reputation. The town lasted only 13 years, but they were exciting years. This book brings the town and its people to life once again.

Cover image for Cardiff, isbn: 9781467160759

Jim Ridings

Western Kankakee County

9781467107211

$23.99

Kankakee County, named after the Kankakee River, was created in 1853 by an act of the Illinois Legislature. The western portion of the county is an extensive geographic area even though it has only a handful of small towns. Nestled in swaths of farmland, which serve as the foundation of the area, the villages of Herscher, Irwin, Bonfield, Buckingham, Limestone, Cabery, Reddick, Essex, and Union Hill make up Western Kankakee County. In addition to farming, all of these towns owe their existence to the coming of the railroads beginning in 1878. Wherever a railroad decided to build a station, a settlement became a town. Settlements that were bypassed by the railroads vanished. Today, the region’s agricultural heritage is on proud display as farming remains the biggest economic factor, along with the Herscher School District and the gas pipeline storage area. The communities of Western Kankakee County continue to be great places to work and play.