Historical Note

Hyde Park was founded in 1853 by New York lawyer Paul Cornell, who named his 300-acre community after the dignified and upscale neighborhoods of New York City and London. In 1856, Cornell convinced the Illinois Central Railroad to build a station at Oak (later 53rd) Street, and the following year Cornell himself erected the Hyde Park House hotels at 53rd Street near Lake Michigan. In 1861, the village was incorporated, extending from 39th to 63rd Streets. The southern border was later extended as far as 138th Street.

The 1890s was a boom period for Hyde Park in that construction of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park brought business and population to the area. In 1889 the village of Hyde Park was annexed to the city of Chicago after a court battle ultimately decided by the Illinois Supreme Court. As population burgeoned, various other neighborhoods were carved out of the enormous area which had once been Hyde Park: Woodlawn, South Shore, South Chicago, Avalon Park, and Calumet Heights among them.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of an initial accession and six supplementary accessions.

Initial Accession:

This small collection has principal strength in two areas: Hyde Park High School, and the corporation of Hyde Park prior to annexation into the city. About half of the bulk of the collection is records from Hyde Park High School (2:2 through 3:4), primarily yearbooks from the early 20th century. See also oversized material. Five printed works from the 1880s (1:7 through 1:11) are municipal reports and ordinances dating from the last decade of Hyde Park’s existence as a separate corporation. In fact, Board minutes in 1:10 cover the village’s last independent meetings.

Persons wishing to know more about the history of Hyde Park should contact the Hyde Park Historical Society (see also folders 1:3-4), 5529 S. Lake Park Ave., Chicago. Phone: 493-1893.

Related material to this collection will be found in the Woodlawn Community Collection. See also separate collections for neighborhoods once part of the original Hyde Park: South Shore, South Chicago, Calumet, and Pullman.

January, 1989

Supplement 1:
This small supplement (folders 3:7 through 3:9) contains two documents relating to the Hyde Park sewage system, 1888—specifications published by the village, and a proposal from a Massachusetts company to complete the work. Also included in this supplement is a 74-page "abstract of record" dated late 1887, which concerns Hyde Park’s battle to ward off annexation by the city of Chicago. Included is voluminous testimony taken by Hyde Park to substantiate its case.

The materials in this supplement were transferred from the Woodlawn Community Collection.

April, 1989

Supplement 2:
This supplement concerns two examinations of titles for the same lot in Hyde Park, 1873 and 1891. The 1873 document includes two small flat maps of a section of Hyde Park in the area of Washington Street and Elm Street. These materials appear to have been originally part of the Historical Society of Woodlawn Collection.

June, 1989

Supplement 3:
This supplement consists of three 19th-century newspapers, and one certificate of a civic appointment by the Village of Hyde Park. The material is more fully described as Oversize 4, 5, 6, and 7 (see below). This material is of uncertain provenance.

August, 1989

Supplement 4:
The material in this supplement is housed in folders 4:1-7 and Oversize 8 through 10. It consists of a smattering of quite important 19th-century Hyde Park documentation. Of special note are deeds singed by Paul Cornell, founder of Hyde Park, and three maps of the municipal water and sewer system on the eve of Hyde Park’s incorporation into Chicago.

The items in this supplement were separated out from general Chicago materials at the time of the cataloging of the Chicago City-Wide Collection.

February, 1990

Separation Record: Oversized Material
The following items have been removed to the locations given:

Schools:
Hyde Park High School Oversize 1:
Wadsworth, Alice Emily. Certificate of admission to High School, 1886 June 24. [See also Woodlawn Community Collection—Biography —Wadsworth, Alice, WCC folder 2:8.]

Oversize 2:
Bragdon, Marion Langton. Hyde Park High School transcript, 1900 June 22.
[See also Woodlawn Community Collection—Biography—Bragdon, Marion, WCC folder 1:9.]

Oversize 3:
Bragdon, Marion Langton. Hyde Park High School diploma, 1900 June 22.

Supplement 3:

Historical Sketches/ General History

Oversize 4:
Hyde Park Herald, I:2, 1882 Jan 21. Newspaper.

Oversize 5:
Hyde Park Herald, I:4, 1882 Feb 4. Newspaper.

Oversize 6:
The South Side Sayings, III:10, 1896 Apr 4.

Municipal Agencies
Oversize 7:
Village of Hyde Park, appointment to Claude B. King as oil inspector, 1879 May 20, signed by John J. Bennett, President and Martin J. Russell, Clerk, Board of Trustees.

Folio Oversize 8:
Howard-Ellers, G. Hyde Park Waterworks. 1882-3. Map. Chicago: L. M. Snyder & Co.

Oversize 9:
Hyde Park 1882-3. Sewerage and Drainage. Map. Chicago: L. M. Snyder & Co.

Oversize 10:
Village of Hyde Park, map showing water mains, and improved streets, Hyde Park, Ill., March 31, 1888. Chicago: L. M. Snyder & Co.

Provenance

The material in this collection comes from at least three sources. Folders 1:1-3; 2:2, 5-7, 9; and 3:4 were originally cataloged as part of the Woodlawn Community Collection, having been in the collection of the Historical Society of Woodlawn. The printed material in folders 1:7-11 and 3:5-6 were received from the Historical Society but never cataloged. The manuscript and printed material in 1:5-6, 12-14; 2:1,3,4,8; and 3:1-3 originates with a multiple-box "miscellany" from the collections of the West Side Historical Society . The material in folder 1:4 was received by Special Collections of the Chicago Public Library via direct mail.

Access

The Hyde Park Community Collection is available to the public for research in the Special Collections and Preservation Division Reading Room on the 9th floor of the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 South State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60605. The collection does not circulate although photocopy and photoreproduction services are available depending upon the condition of the original materials. First time patrons to Special Collections must present a photo identification and complete a Reader Registration Form. Telephone inquiries on this collection and other Special Collections holdings can be directed to 312-747-4875.

Box and Folder Inventory

BOX 1

Churches
1. Hyde Park Baptist Church; 1949
2. Rockefeller Memorial Chapel; 1945

Clubs & Organizations
3. Hyde Park Historical Society; 1939 Sept
4. Hyde Park Historical Society; 1988-

Historical Sketches & General History
5. Clement, Ernest W.—Reminiscences of Oakland; 1938
6. Seavey, Edgar & Almena—Quit-Claim deed; 1874

Municipal Agencies: Corporation of Hyde Park
7. Annual Message of the President; 1883
8. Annual Message of the President; 1885
9. Annual Message of the President; 1886 (2 copies)
10. Proceedings of the Board of Trustees; 1889 Apr 16-Jul 13
11. Ordinance Creating a Department of Public Works; n.d.
12. Specifications for House Drains on Michigan Avenue; c. 1890s?
13. Tax receipt book: Garrit Admiral; 1875-85
14. Water Department—Water Usage; 1880s

BOX 2 Residences
1. "Kenwood District"—Pamphlet by Commission on Chicago... Landmarks; 1978

Schools: Hyde Park High School (See also SSCC 8:24, 25)
2. Opening day program; 1939
3. "The Oski Wow-Wow: History of HPHS Athletics", 1924 Publications:
4. Libethrian; 1896
5. Libethrian; 1897
6. Oracle; 1913
7. Aitchpe; 1914
8. Aitchpe; 1915
9. Aitchpe: 1917

BOX 3

1. Aitchpe: 1929
2. Aitchpe: 1935
3. Aithcpe: 1936 4. HPHS Community Coordinating Council/P.T.A.; 1961

Transportation
5. Improvement of the Harbors of Chicago & Calumet (Wash. DC: 1883)
6. Improvement of the Harbors of Chicago & Calumet (Wash. DC: 1887)

SUPPLEMENT 1 Municipal Agenicies
7. Specifications for pumping machinery and boilers, for the village of Hyde Park, Cook County, III. July 17th, 1888.
8. The Deane Steam Pump Co., Holyoke, Mass.—Proposal to build sewage pumping system. 1888 Oct 17th.
9. Supreme Court of Illinois. Abstract of record. Village of Hyde Park vs. Board of Commissioners, Cook Co., City of Chicago, 1887.

SUPPLEMENT 2

Historical Sketches & General History
10. Examination of title, Lot 4, Block 52, Hyde Park; 1873
11. Examination of title, Lot 4, Block 52, Hyde Park; 1891
12. Hyde Park Jubilee—Newspaper editorial; 1939 Sep 21

BOX 4

SUPPLEMENT 4

Biography
1. Cornell, Paul—Bond & Warranty deed to land in Hyde Park;1874 (2
pieces)

Clubs & Organizations
2. Hyde Park Lyceum—Program Flyer; 1878 Mar 2
3. Republican Party—Ticket; [1888 or 1892]
4. YMCA Hyde Park Dept.—"Your Building" (pamphlet); c. 1910

Residences
5. 4570 S. Woodlawn (Whitton home)—Advertisement for guest house
accommodations; n.d.

Schools
6. Hyde Park High School—Commencement program; 1899
7. Hyde Park High School—Libethrian; 1895

SUPPLEMENT 5

Municipal Agencies
8. Hyde Park Fire Dept. (Oakland Hose Co. No. 1)—Frank Gillett, A.L.S.
to John H. Trumbull; 1877 Feb 10

SUPPLEMENT 6

Business
9. Shoreland Hotel—The Bulletin; Aug 1926

Clubs & Organizations
10. Hyde Park-Kenwood Council of Jewish Organizations—"The
Holocaust: Our Community Remembers", 1979 Apr 23

Residences
11. "Segments of the Past"—Brochure by Hyde Park-Kenwood
Community Conference; 1962
12. 5757 Woodlawn Avenue (Robie House)—History; 1940s?

PHOTOGRAPHS

Business
1.1 John Trainor Tavern, corner Lake Park Ave. & 56th Street; 1892