Maywood, Illinois

Coordinates: 41°52′52″N 87°50′36″W / 41.88111°N 87.84333°W / 41.88111; -87.84333

Maywood
Village
Motto: "Village of Eternal Light"
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
Coordinates	41°52′52″N 87°50′36″W / 41.88111°N 87.84333°W / 41.88111; -87.84333
Area	12.7 sq mi (33 km2)
- land	12.7 sq mi (33 km2)
Density	9,965.7 / sq mi (3,848 / km2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60153, 60154, 60155
Area code	708
Location of Maywood within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Maywood, Illinois

Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was founded on April 6, 1869^[1] and organized October 22, 1881.^[2] The population was 26,987 at the 2000 census.

Overview

Considered a blue collar community, Maywood had experienced many changes since the closing of American Can Company in the late 1970s. There is a Metra commuter railroad station in the village and it is also served by Pace Bus Service.^[3]

Maywood is located 10 miles west of downtown Chicago. Interstate 290, the Eisenhower Expressway, bisects (north and south) the town as it goes from Chicago west to join Interstate 294, the Tri-State Tollway west of Maywood in Hillside. It is located between O'Hare and Midway airports.

There are many gracious century-old homes in relatively unaltered condition, and Maywood boasts 16 homes and properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[4] Maywood and the rest of Proviso Township has a rich history as shown by the Franzosenbusch Heritage Project.^[5]

At one time there were two airports in Maywood. One was on the location where the Loyola University Medical Center is today, at the southwest corner of First Avenue and Roosevelt Road. It was the airfield used by Charles Lindbergh during his days as an airmail pilot. Checkerboard Field was on the southeastern corner of that intersection and was a private field. It is now a forest preserve meadow. There was some apparent consolidation of the fields in later years. The current Hines Veterans Hospital's long narrow building is built on the foundation of the former grandstand for automobile board racetrack from many years ago; Barney Oldfield raced on the track.^[6]

Citizen concerns include poor response times from the Village Police Department. The Village Website lists the following citizen question: "Why do police take so long to respond to calls? Answer: Calls are prioritized based on the seriousness or the nature of the call. Personal injury takes precedence over property damage."^[7]

Geography

Maywood is located at 41°52′52″N 87°50′36″W / 41.88111°N 87.84333°W / 41.88111; -87.84333 (41.881181, -87.843309).^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 12.7 square miles (33 km²), all of it land.

Neighboring towns are: Broadview (S), Forest Park (E), Melrose Park (N), and Bellwood (W).

Demographics

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 26,987 people, 7,937 households, and 6,151 families residing in the village. The population density was 9,965.7 people per square mile (3,844.9/km²). There were 8,475 housing units at an average density of 3,129.6 per square mile (1,207.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 82.7% African American, 9.7% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 5.6% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.5% of the population.

There were 7,937 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 30.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.38 and the average family size was 3.84.

In the village the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $41,942, and the median income for a family was $46,776. Males had a median income of $41,638 versus $37,316 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,915. About 11.1% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Emerson Elementary School is an elementary school in Maywood. Enrollment as of 2006 was 476 students.^[10] The school teaches grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Other elementary schools in Maywood include Lexington, Garfield, Lincoln, Washington and Irving Elementary Schools. Proviso East High School is in Maywood.

Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine is also located in Maywood. The Jesuit school is home to around 600 medical students.

Maywood in World War II

Maywood became the home of the 33rd Tank Company, Illinois National Guard. The Armory was located on Madison Street, two blocks east of First Avenue. It was organized on 3 May 1929 with the purpose of training men for combat. On 25 November 1940, 122 men of the 33rd Tank Company were inducted into active service to become Company B of the famous 192nd Tank Battalion which fought on the Philippine islands. They were destined to become victims of the Bataan Death March in April 1942. Of the 122 men of Company B, only 41 returned to Maywood alive. Their sacrifice has been honored with a Bataan Day Parade.^[11][12]

Notable residents

Carl Sandburg, famous poet, lived in Maywood

Charles Lindberg lived in Maywood while flying the mail, on 3rd Ave

Walter Burley Griffith, famous architect, was born and lived in Maywood

Eugene Cernan, astronaut was from Maywood

Film and TV star Dennis Franz grew up in Maywood and attended Proviso East High School.

NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke attended Proviso East High School in Maywood.

Folk/outlaw country singer John Prine grew up in Maywood, and his song "Bruised Orange" references an accident in which a local boy was hit by a train.

Hip-Hop/R&B recording artist Maserati X raised in Maywood, attended numerous elementary schools and Proviso East High School.

Former Black Panther Fred Hampton, a Maywood native, has a street and a public swimming pool named after him in the Village.

Current NBA guard for the Los Angeles Lakers Shannon Brown born and raised in Maywood, attended Proviso East High School.

Current European guard for Italy Dee Brown was raised in Maywood, attended Proviso East High School.

Boston Celtics coach Glen Doc Rivers graduated from Proviso East High School in Maywood.

Former Boston Celtics guard Michael Finley graduated from Proviso East High School in Maywood.

Naima Adedapo lived in Maywood.

Baseball pitcher Norma Berger, a Maywood native, played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

References

1. ^ Franzosenbusch Heritage Project
2. ^ Village of Maywood
3. ^ Pace Bus - Bus Schedules and Maps
4. ^ National Register of Historical Places
5. ^ Franzosenbusch Heritage Project
6. ^ Borgeson, Griffith (1998), The golden age of the American racing car (2 ed.), SAE, p. 132, ISBN 9780768000238, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MDMFSp7xTp0C&pg=PA132 
7. ^ Maywood Official Website Q&A section
8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
9. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
10. ^ Irving Elementary School - Maywood, Illinois - IL - school overview
11. ^ [Geserick, June; MAYWOOD SHOWS SONS IT WON'T FORGET HEROISM :30,000 See Ceremonies of Bataan Day; 13 September 1942; Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1963); ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1986). (Document ID: 473319512); accessed 22 July 2009]
12. ^ Pioneer Press, Maywood, 10 September 09

Home of noted scientist and researcher Percy l. Julian

Home of BET co - founder Sheila Crump - Johnson

Home of Carl Sandberg

Birthplace of Walter Burley Griffin

Home of Sun Times Columnist Mary Mitchell

External links

• Village of Maywood
• Maywood Bataan Day Organization
• Maywood Chamber of Commerce