Oak Lawn’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 3 old photos of Oak Lawn. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In August 1835, James B. Campbell purchased the land stretching between Cicero Avenue and Central Avenue from 95th Street to 103rd Street. It is unclear what Campbell's intentions with the area were, but by 1840, he had lost a court battle with the Illinois State Bank and his land was sold in a public auction. John Simpson, a prominent figure in early Oak Lawn history, bought the northern half of the property in 1842. By 1859, the recently incorporated government of Worth Township paid for the construction of Black Oak Grove Road, an early name for 95th Street. Black Oak Grove is also the earliest known name of the area that would become Oak Lawn. It was later shortened to Black Oak or Black Oaks. Before this however, the area now known as Oak Lawn was, briefly during the early 1800s, called Agnes. It was also on some occasion referred to as Oak Park.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Oak Lawn’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oak Lawn’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewPostcard of the Oak Lawn Business…, 1910: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Oak Lawn
See all 27 →
Oak Lawn, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Postcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 1912 (1910) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.