The Ridge Historical Society
History of the Chicago Wards – Post 6: Beginning a Chicago Wards Timeline for the Ridge; Early Aldermen for the Ridge
By Carol Flynn
A timeline has been started for the history of the Chicago wards on the Ridge.
1889, June – Lake Township was annexed to the City of Chicago, which included the land north of 87th Street, east of Western Avenue, which today includes the northern part of Dan Ryan Woods. This land includes the northern tip of the Blue Island Ridge so the land is connected geographically to the Ridge even though it is not considered part of North Beverly and is not part of today’s 19th ward. At the time of annexation, the land was part of the Sherman Farm estate. This land formed part of the new 31st ward.
The first two aldermen for any part of the Ridge were Edwin J. Noble and Captain George F. McKnight, Republicans from the thirty-first ward.
1890, April – The land from 87th Street south to 95th Street, Western Avenue east to State Street, included in the Calumet Township, was annexed. It had been unincorporated land before that. The land included what today is known as North Beverly. It was assigned to the 31st ward.
1890, November – The land from 95th Street south to 107th Street, Western Avenue east to a zigzag alignment of streets, was annexed. The municipality had been incorporated as Washington Heights, and included today’s Beverly Hills.
1891, February – The annexed land of Washington Heights was added to the 31st ward.
1895, April – Isaiah T. Greenacre was elected the first alderman from the Ridge.
North Beverly and Washington Heights remained in the 31st ward until 1901, when population growth and shifts led to redistricting of the wards. The part of the 31st ward that included North Beverly and Washington Heights was split off into its own ward, and the renumbering of the city wards made this the 32nd ward. This will be covered in an upcoming post.
The aldermen of the 31st ward during the time it included North Beverly and Washington Heights, all Republican, were:
1889-1891: George McKnight
1889-1896: Edwin Noble
1891-1893: Edwin A. Plowman
1893-1895: James L. Francis
1895-1897: Isaiah T. Greenacre
1896-1898: Clark T. Northrop
1897-1899: Elliot W. Sproul
1898-1901: Joseph Badenoch
1899-1901: Henry F. Eidmann
McKnight, Noble and Plowman were covered in previous posts.
Francis was a prominent member of the city council’s special committee for the 1893 World’s Fair. He planned on seeking reelection in 1895 but he was ousted by the Republican “machine.” Later that year, Francis was charged with “boodling,” the term for various types of graft and corruption. He was accused of accepting cash and stock from the Mutual Electric Light and Power Company, located in Brainerd, in exchange for backing ordinances favorable to the company, charges he strongly denied.
Isaiah T. Greenacre was the first alderman elected from the Ridge. He played a considerable role in local, city, and state politics and he will be profiled in the next post.
Northrup was a prominent businessman who held the position of foreign representative with Smith and Co. before becoming a member of the Board of Trade. He had been a trustee for Lake Township.
Sproul was a contractor and builder. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Congressman from the 3rd District of Illinois from 1921 to 1931. This photo is of Elliot W. Sproul.
Next post: Isaiah T. Greenacre, first alderman elected from the Ridge.