The RHS Facebook page is a rich archive of history-related posts by Carol Flynn, RHS Facebook admin and writer until mid-2025. Carol prolifically wrote a wide variety of meticulously researched local history articles for RHS. She continues to write for the Beverly Review and other media sources with articles particularly focused on local Ridge history.
Local History
In addition to Women's History Month and Irish American Heritage Month, March is also National Nutrition Month. This is a very busy month!
When you think of good nutrition, fresh healthy fruits and vegetables come to mind. It might be surprising that not that long ago, the Ridge area was full of farms growing and selling produce locally.
For 55 years, the Van Laten farm stand was a fixture at 101st and Western Avenue.
The Van Latens came from the Netherlands in the late 1800s. They settled in Chicago and started a poultry farm. They eventually rented many acres of land in the area, including around 115th and Western, the area now built up as Merrionette Park, and the strip mall at 115th and Kedzie. That was farmland up until the 1950s.
The Van Latens were part of the "last working farm in Chicago" that was on the grounds now housing the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences.
Other farmers on the land included the Martens, Aggens and Langlands. This is a very interesting story – the founding and building of that high school in the 1970s-1980s – and we will cover it another day.
Author Therese Ragen remembered walking up to Van Laten's stand, where they would pick out "fresh tomatoes and lettuce and corn on the cob, and carrots and peaches and plums. Mrs. Van Laten would take her pencil out from behind her ear, adding up the prices in a column on a paper bag." They would pay for the goods and leave their address and the Van Latens would later deliver the produce to their home.
This picture from the Ridge Historical Society archives is of the Van Laten farm stand on Western Ave.
One of the duties of a legitimate history organization like the Ridge Historical Society is to investigate and either verify or "debunk" local myths and legends to maintain historical accuracy. It's not always easy to get to the truth, and it can be dismaying and downright upsetting to the public to find out something they have believed for years is just not accurate.
Case in point for Morgan Park: The widespread belief that the Hopkinson-Platt House on 108th and Drew was a stop on the Underground Railroad. As we finish up Black History Month, let's take a look at this local urban myth, which someone referred to on an RHS post last week.
The Underground Railroad was a network of safe stops where escaping slaves could find refuge and help as they made their way north to freedom. The locations were passed along by word of mouth and secret symbols.
The Blue Island Land and Building Co. began platting and selling the land bordered by today's Western Ave., Ashland Ave., 107th St., and 119th St., in 1869, after the U.S. Civil War ended. William Hopkinson purchased that land at 108th and Drew and built that house in 1871, too late for the Underground Railroad.
The Platts owned the house in later years. What appears to have happened is that a man investigating an ancestor's escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad told Mrs. Platt that the ancestor's journal described a house with windows like the ones on the Hopkinson-Platt House. From this, Ms. Platt drew the conclusion this was the house. But the dates just do not confirm this.
There are oral histories that confirm that escaping slaves passed through Beverly/Morgan Park and hid in barns. And there are several verified Underground Railroad stops on the South Side. But, unfortunately, the Platt House was not one of them.
So what about the "hidden room?" Well, it could have been a storage area, or changes could have been made to the house at any time along the way. It could have been used in any number of ways. Prohibition?
Does this lessen the historical significance of the house? Not at all. It is one of the earliest structures in Morgan Park, and has a fascinating history. Its nearly three acres of never-developed land make it a prime spot to study for potential significance to the Native Americans who lived in the area.
Two pictures here show, first, the house in its early years, then owned by Christian Zeiss, when the front entrance faced Prospect Ave. As land around the house was sold off, the house was remodeled to create the entrance on the Drew Ave. side, which is shown in the second photo, the way the house looks now.
– Carol Flynn, RHS Communications @ridgehistoricalsociety
Here is a #FlashbackFriday from our digital archive. Can anyone name what street corner this is?
It is our responsibility as a community to keep our history alive. You can help too!
Do you have any information about your home or your family that you would like to share with RHS? We are looking for any photographs or documents that would help us create a living resource for the history of the Ridge community.
If you have any information, contact Ridge Historical Society at 773-881-1675 or ridgehistory@hotmail.com
Photograph: an early view of the corner of 103rd and Wood St. On the right is the original construction of Bethany Union Church, followed by the beautiful Queen Anne homes that line the street.