Palos Historical Society – Palos Park, IL

Palos Park is a hilly retreat center in the Chicago suburbs, tucked between Cook County forest reserves and Palos Heights. Wealthy Chicagorians built second homes here in the early 1900s, where they would escape the city to catch some fresh air. 

Today, many people visit the village to train along the Cal-Sag and Swallow Cliff trails or enjoy water games in Tampier Lake or the Saganashkee Slough. The village has also developed facilities at Centennial and Village Green parks to hold social and sporting events. 

However, the most spectacular is the Palos Park Public library, where the Palos historical society keeps the historical materials of Cook County and Palos village.

A Brief History Of Palos Park, Illinois

Palos Park, IL, is a suburb in Chicago and one of the best places to live, raise a family or retire. Early settlers of this area did farming on the flatter grounds and lumber business in the wooded areas. 

However, with the development of road and rail transport systems, more city dwellers found themselves escaping to this green suburb over the weekends and holidays for fresh air.

Being surrounded by the Cook County Forest Reserves, it offered the best environment for retreats. The newcomers established recreational centers such as the World’s Columbian Exposition and the Palos Improvement Clubhouse, which attracted celebrated sculptors, writers, playwrights, and theatre performers to this suburb and converted it into an artist’s center.

After the 1920s, more and more artists found themselves making Palos Park their permanent residence. Today, Palos Park, Illinois, is home to about 4,689 people who mainly live in their own homes. Since upgrading into a village, the Palos Park community is governed by a mayor and four commissioners. 

In addition, the Cook County Forest Reserves bought part of the land to retain the village’s status as a retreat center.

There are beautiful trails and lakes in the park for picnics, camping, sporting events, kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. However, the area is not yet industrialized though a few businesses exist in the area, with the majority of the community members commuting every morning to Chicago for work. 

The local history, including photographs, personal stories, and genealogies of the local community dating over 400 years back, are preserved in the Palos Historical Society Public Library. You can visit the Palos historical society on 12332 Forest Glen Blvd Palos Park, IL, 60464 for more information.

What You Need To Know About Palos Historical Society

Palos historical society is a charity organization in Cook County, Illinois. It was founded in 1957 by a retired University professor, Donald Bond, among others. In 1960, Donald handed over to John Rogers, who is still the current president. 

John and his wife kept the archives in their own home in Palos Park, IL, for 33 years before constructing the Palos Park public library, where all records are currently kept. John’s wife has been working as the library curator since 1969, and they rely on membership fees, government grants, and donations for funding. Membership to the organization is open to Palos Township residents.

Why Visit Palos Historical Society in Palos Park, Illinois

If you are a historian or a curious community member who likes to know your heritage, you probably have visited a historical society before. If not, you can still benefit from the exhibitions of historical societies near you. 

Illinois has a rich history, and all the cultural and historical materials are preserved in libraries or museums.

Palos historical society is one of the historical societies in Cook County that researches Palos Park and the Cook County community. The curators of the historical society seek to interpret, preserve, and make accessible local history to interested members of the community. 

If you are a researcher or a collector, you can always call the curators of Palos historical park Illinois for consultations. You can visit the park on Forest Glen Blvd Palos Park, IL, every Tuesday between 9 a.m and 1 p.m or call for any historical information.

Apart from accessing historical materials, Palos historical society also buys historical artifacts and so you can call them any day for business. In addition, you can rent the Park grounds for lectures, meetings, social events, and field trips.

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