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.
2022
The Ridge Historical Society participated in the 2022 Memorial Day Parade today. The participants were Debbie Nemeth, President; Mike Wilk, Vice-President; Edris Hoover, Curator; and David Perry, Director. The car was a 1923 Durrant Star owned and driven by Tom Strasser.
Juneteenth
Juneteenth National Independence Day became a federal holiday just last year. It is celebrated today, June 19th, although tomorrow, June 20, will be the day off from work or school.
The day celebrates the emancipation from slavery for African Americans, based on a proclamation of freedom in Texas on June 19, 1865. In December of that year, the end of slavery became official with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Ridge’s connection to emancipation is through the many men and women who lived here or moved here later who are documented as serving the Union cause during the U.S. Civil War. Some of these people were connected directly to Abraham Lincoln, and knew him going back to his earliest days practicing law and politics in Illinois.
The Ridge community was the site of the Gardner House, an inn along the Vincennes Road known as a refuge that harbored escaped slaves in the decades before the Civil War.
The Gardner House was located at 9955 S. Beverly Avenue. It was demolished around the early 1930s.
The Ridge Historical Society (RHS) collection includes the plaque that stood at the site for decades but fell into disrepair. The plaque reads:
REFUGE FOR SLAVES
On this site then in the midst of the prairie stood the Gardner
home and tavern built in 1836, it was bought by William
Wilcox in 1844 and became a refuge for slaves during the Civil
War.
Erected by Chicago’s Charter Jubilee
Authenticated by Chicago Historical Society – 1937
According to the History of Cook County by Andreas, Jefferson Gardner built an inn around 99th and Beverly, along the Vincennes Road, in 1836. He didn’t stay long and sold the property to the Wilcox family in 1844. The Wilcox family bought the place sight
unseen and moved here from New York.
The house was described as a spacious one and a half story house, with land that went from around 95th Street south to 107th Street, and Prospect Avenue east to Racine. Much of the land was left as prairie, but some of the land was farmed, and there was an apple orchard.
It was reported in early histories that although never an official stop on the Underground Railroad, two or three times fugitive slaves were found sleeping in the out buildings. They were fed, and went on their way, likely north to freedom in Canada.
There were five Wilcox brothers, and four served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Two of the four were killed in action. The fifth brother stayed home to run the farm, a common practice of the day.
The image of the Gardner House was drawn by the architect Murray Hetherington in 1936 from descriptions given to him by someone who remembered the house.
Reminder!! Tomorrow!! Please stop by the Ridge Historical Society as we celebrate our 50th anniversary! Children welcome!
The Ridge Historical Society celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and the Graver-Driscoll House, RHS's headquarters, was ready for the event. The house celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Photos by D. Nemeth.
The exhibit celebrating the Hetherington family of architects drew visitors at the 50th anniversary party for the Ridge Historical Society. The Graver-Driscoll House, RHS's headquarters, designed by John Todd Hetherington, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Photos by D. Nemeth and C. Flynn.
Treats, entertainment, and socializing were all part of the 50th anniversary celebration for the Ridge Historical Society.
Thanks to Janice Bruno Griffin of Party Pros, Inc., for her expert service. Food from D'Masti's.
Photos by D. Nemeth and C. Flynn.
Current and past presidents of the Ridge Historical Society gathered for the 50th anniversary of the organization.
From left: Current President Debra Nemeth; past Presidents Doris Moulton, Patricia McGrail, Edris Hoover, and Elaine Spencer.
Fourth of July 1922
The Ridge was busy with everyday life as the Fourth of July approached one hundred years ago.
School had come to an end for the summer and graduation exercises had taken place. A picture of the cadets at the Morgan Park Military Academy parading in formation appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Betty Frances and Irma Permelia Palmer of 96th Street gave a “good-bye before vacation” party for their schoolmates. Their mother was Pauline Palmer, the local correspondent for the Englewood Times newspaper for many years, and it was she who reported the neighborhood news in the 1920s.
Classes from the local schools enjoyed picnics in the Beverly Woods [which hadn’t been renamed the Dan Ryan Woods yet].
Tammie A. Wilcox, a teacher at the Vanderpoel School, received a Master’s degree from the American Conservatory of Music.
Newly ordained priest Father Lester Lyons of 98th and Winston celebrated his first solemn Mass at St. Margaret of Scotland Church. The “beautiful and uplifting service” was followed by “a sweet after-service” enjoyed by his relatives, friends, classmates and admirers.
Graduating college senior William G. “Bud” McCaw of 98th and Longwood was awarded the western conference medal by the Indiana University faculty for his scholarship and athletic record. He maintained a “B” average while earning his college letter “I” in football.
College students returned home for the summer. The Fitch family of 94th and Pleasant traveled to Ohio to collect sons Donald and James from Denison University. Katherine Hodges of 97th and Vanderpoel was home from Rockford College.
There were the usual illnesses and injuries. The little Kennicott son of 113th and Lothair was recovering from diphtheria. Miss Charlotte Slater had an operation for appendicitis at St. Luke’s Hospital. Mrs. Roy Baxter and her sister were badly cut and bruised when their automobile was smashed into at 103rd and Longwood. They were grateful to their neighbors Mr. Heffernon and Mr. Davis for coming to their assistance.
Folks made summer trips. Charles Lacklore of 111th and Longwood was in Seattle to visit his mother. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Mikesell were in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Dr. J. H. DeLoach went to Georgia on business. Mrs. Bulkley visited St. Louis and upon her return her daughter and son-in-law were planning to stay with her for the summer.
June weddings were popular. Gertrude Kilian and Charles Sikes had their wedding supper at the community center on 103rd Street, followed by a dance at Valentine’s hall at 103rd and Charles St. Marion Grozier married U. S. Navy Ensign Harry Keeler, Jr., of 96th and Longwood Drive, and prepared to move to San Diego, where the groom was assigned duty on a destroyer.
There were public safety concerns. The paper reported that it was “a favorite stunt for moonshine-filled autoists” here for funerals to drive through the local streets at “reckless speed from forty to sixty miles an hour,” and something had to be done to prevent this.
Neighbors were awakened by a “terrific” early morning explosion at the Beverly Hills News Agency at 98th and Wood Street, which resulted in a small fire and some damage. It was wondered if this was intentionally caused by someone with a grudge or if it was just an accident.
The Fourth of July program for the community was planned to start at 9 a.m. and end with a fireworks show at 9 p.m. – “if the weather man smiles.” Included in the day would be a band concert, community singing, athletic competitions and displays, and a baseball game between Morgan Park and Ridge Park teams. Major General Milton J. Foreman, a distinguished World War I veteran and leader in the Illinois National Guard, was invited to be the speaker.
The Ridge Park swimming pool would be open on the fourth, and “big and little, and grandparents, and all the rest, have their suits and caps and water wings ready for a plunge.”
Summer activities would go on after the holiday. The Vanderpoel School would be open on Sundays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. so people could visit the art collection. [The Vanderpoel Art Association would move to the Ridge Park field house when it was built in a few more years.]
St. Margaret’s Church was planning its annual carnival for the week of July 15. Mrs. John Finan of 100th and Prospect was the chair of the event.
Saturday afternoon at Ridge Park at 97th and Longwood was known for its “crackerjack ball games” and enthusiastic crowds.
The community kept growing. The southwest corner of 111th Street and Western Ave. [where today the Beverly Arts Center is located] had just been sold to W.J. and Edward Birk for $22,500. There were ads in the local paper from Elmer Jordan and Co. offering real estate plots in this section for sale as the “Morgan Park Sub-Division.” The land was still very rural, and a project to widen, grade, and pave Western Avenue was in the works.
The oldest house in the community, and one of the oldest in the entire City of Chicago, the Iglehart House, is located in this neighborhood at 11118 S. Artesian Ave.
Life went on.
The Ridge Historical Society announces new OPEN HOURS for the public! Beginning this Sunday, July 10, 2022, RHS will be open on Sundays and Tuesdays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. All are welcome, no admission fee.
Enter the RHS grounds from the Seeley Avenue side – 10621 S. Seeley Avenue. There is limited parking by this entrance. Note that the Graver-Driscoll House is not air-conditioned or wheelchair accessible.
The current exhibit is on the Hetherington Family of Architects and their outstanding contributions to the community.
While you’re out and about for the BAPA Garden Walk this Sunday, July 10, please stop by the Ridge Historical Society, also.
RHS will now be open to the public on Sunday and Tuesday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome and admission is free. Visitors should enter at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue. There is limited parking right at RHS, and abundant street parking on Seeley.
The current exhibit at RHS is “Hetherington Design Dynasty” which explores the architecture careers of three generations of the Hetherington family.
John Todd and Jane Hetherington, their sons and daughter, and their grandchildren, lived in Beverly. It’s safe to say this community would not have become the architecture showplace it has been known as for decades without the contributions of the Hetherington family. They designed close to one hundred buildings in a variety of styles. Just three examples of their work which are publicly accessible are the Graver-Driscoll House (RHS headquarters) which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the Ridge Park field house at 96th and Longwood, and the Rainbow Cone building at 92nd and Western.
This Sunday, the three RHS representatives who developed the exhibit will be there in person to discuss their work. Meet Linda Lamberty, RHS Historian, the most knowledgeable person in the community about local history; Mati Maldre, the Chair of the RHS Historic Buildings Committee and the professional photographer whose images of Hetherington buildings grace an entire wall of the exhibit; and Tim Blackburn, owner of a local Hetherington-designed home, whose tireless research into all-things-Hetherington created the majority of this fascinating exhibit.