Mount Greenwood, Chicago

Mount Greenwood
—  Community area  —
Community Area 74 - Mount Greenwood
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°42.0′N 87°42.6′W / 41.7°N 87.71°W / 41.7; -87.71Coordinates: 41°42.0′N 87°42.6′W / 41.7°N 87.71°W / 41.7; -87.71
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	list Mount Greenwood Mount Greenwood Heights Talley's Corner
Area
- Total	2.7 sq mi (7.07 km2)
Population (2000)
- Total	18,820
- Density	6,894.4/sq mi (2,662/km2)
	population down 1.87% from 1990
Demographics
- White	93.58%
- Black	3.59%
- Hispanic	3.84%
- Asian	0.32%
- Other	1.26%
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes	part of 60655
Median income	$57,493
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Mount Greenwood is one of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas. It is a predominantly Irish-Catholic neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago. It neighbors the Chicago neighborhoods of Beverly and Morgan Park to the east, the suburb of Evergreen Park to the north, the suburb of Oak Lawn to the west, and the suburbs of Merrionette Park and Alsip to the south. Because of the presence of cemeteries, the area was once known as Seven Holy Tombs. Mount Greenwood is about 14 miles (23 km) SW of the Loop.

Even though there were a small number of settlers in Mt. Greenwood, the origins of Mt. Greenwood began in 1877 when it was surveyed by George Waite. Mr. Waite established an area where he could trade with the local Native Americans. Mount Greenwood Cemetery was established around this time by Mr. Waite. With the cemetery came the saloons and restaurants and eventually tracks for horse and greyhound racing. The cemetery is also the final resting-place of Robert_Haslam_(Pony_Bob) (1840-1912), who as a twenty-year-old immigrant from England became one of the most celebrated riders of the Pony Express mail service that operated from 1860-1861^[1].

Mt. Greenwood became part of the city of Chicago in 1927. It was not until 1936 that the Works Progress Administration finally laid sewage systems, and paved and lighted city streets. As late as the 1960s, the Mount Greenwood Civic Association was still fighting the city for curbs and gutters. By the 1980s, Mount Greenwood was home to the last surviving farm in the city, which was developed as the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences at the southeast corner of 111th and Pulaski.

Mount Greenwood is home to many Chicago Firefighters, Police Officers and Union workers of Irish heritage.

Most of Mt. Greenwood's population is also Roman Catholic. Most students in the neighborhood attend Catholic elementary schools and high schools. Mount Greenwood is home to two Catholic elementary schools (Queen of Martyrs and St.Christina), three Catholic high schools (Brother Rice High School, Marist High School, and Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School) and a Catholic university (Saint Xavier University). Public grade schools in the area are Mt. Greenwood Elementary School and George F. Cassell Elementary School. Both are filled with neighborhood children.

Chicago Public Library Branch

Mount Greenwood, like many other Chicago neighborhoods, has its own branch of the Chicago Public Library. The library in this area looks identical to the Hegewisch Branch of the Chicago Public Library. The library has a significant Irish heritage collection.

Chicago Public Parks

The booming Mount Greenwood community was among the neighborhoods identified for park development in the Chicago Park District's Ten Year Plan to provide increased recreational opportunities in post-World War II Chicago. In 1946, the Mount Greenwood Civic Council urged the acquisition of vacant Board of Education land along 111th Street. The park district purchased the 24-acre (97,000 m²) site in 1949, and slowly began improving the property. The park district constructed a fieldhouse in 1966, and added a swimming pool in 1973. The 1990s brought further improvements. A soft surface playground featured an airport/train station-themed play area. A refrigerated ice skating rink provides winter recreation.

Several features of Mount Greenwood Park honor noted local citizens. A parking area is dedicated to Frederick G. Abrams, Sr. a Chicago Alderman and Treasurer of the Village of Mount Greenwood from 1918 to 1927. A baseball diamond bears the name Rooney Field, in honor of Rooney Richardson (--1982), who took an active role in community affairs. John R. Powers wrote a fictionalized account of his experience growing up in Mount Greenwood in The Last Catholic in America (1973). Powers called the neighborhood "Seven Holy Tombs" in the book.

External links

• Official City of Chicago Mount Greenwood Community Map
• http://www.southwestobserver.com is the neighborhood web site for Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park.
• Daily Southtown photo coverage of Mount Greenwood
• Encyclopedia of Chicago entry on Mount Greenwood

References

1. ^ Christopher Corbett, "Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express", Broadway Books, New York, 2003.