Evanston

History

Prior to the 1830s, the area now occupied by Evanston was mainly uninhabited, consisting largely of wetlands and swampy forest. However, Potawatomi Native Americans used trails along higher lying ridges that ran in a general north–south direction through the area, and had at least some semi-permanent settlements along the trails. French explorers referred to the general area as "Grosse Pointe" after a point of land jutting into Lake Michigan about north of the mouth of the Chicago River. After the first non-Native Americans settled in the area in 1836, the names "Grosse Point Territory" and "Gross Point voting district" were used through the 1830s and 1840s, although the territory had no defined boundaries. The area remained only sparsely settled, supporting some farming and lumber activity on some of the higher ground, as well as a number of taverns or "hotels" along the ridge roads. Grosse Pointe itself steadily eroded into the lake during this period. In 1850, a township called Ridgeville was organized, extending from Graceland Cemetery in Chicago to the southern edge of the Ouilmette Reservation, along what is now Central Street, and from Lake Michigan to Western Avenue in Chicago. The 1850 census shows a few hundred settlers in this township, They chose a bluffed and wooded site along the lake as Northwestern's home, purchasing several hundred acres of land from John Foster, a Chicago farm owner. In 1854, the founders of Northwestern submitted to the county judge their plans for a city to be named Evanston after John Evans, one of their leaders. In 1857, the request was granted. The township of Evanston was split off from Ridgeville Township; at approximately the same time, that portion of Ridgeville south of Devon Avenue was organized as Lake View Township.…

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Evanston has a total area of , of which (or 99.72%) is land and (or 0.28%) is water. In October 2006, the city voted to sign the United States Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and a number of citizen task forces convened to develop a plan to reduce the city's carbon footprint. The Evanston Climate Action Plan ("ECAP"), accepted by the City Council in November 2008, suggested over 200 strategies to make Evanston more sustainable, principally by reducing carbon emissions associated with transportation, buildings, energy sources, waste, and food production. In June 2011, the United States Conference of Mayors awarded Evanston first place in the small city category of the Mayors' Climate Protection Awards, based largely on the city's use of the ECAP, which the city asserts has reduced emissions by 24,000 metric tons per year. On September 15, 2011, Wal-Mart presented Mayor Tisdahl with a $15,000 award in recognition of the honor, which the mayor donated to Citizens' Greener Evanston. Evanston is in the Hot-summer humid continental climate, or Köppen Dfa zone. The zone includes four distinct seasons. Winter is cold with snow. Spring warms up with precipitation and storms. Summer has high precipitation and storms. Fall cools down.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Lane Technical High School
  High · Chicago · 4,496 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Taft High School
  High · Chicago · 4,464 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Evanston Twp High School
  High · Evanston · 3,691 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Glenbrook South High School
  High · Glenview · 3,030 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• New Trier Township H S Winnetka
  High · Winnetka · 2,856 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• Niles West High School
  High · Skokie · 2,609 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Maine South High School
  High · Park Ridge · 2,495 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Lincoln Park High School
  High · Chicago · 2,107 students · 15.5:1 ratio