Forest Park

History

Before modern settlement, the area now known as Forest Park was inhabited by the Potawatomi and other Native American groups. In 1839, French trader Leon Bourassa purchased 160 acres of land where present day Forest Park lies. German immigrant Ferdinand Haase, bought 40 acres of that land from Leon Bourassa in 1851, which eventually became 240 acres. In 1856, John Henry Quick purchased the land, and named it Harlem after his hometown. The community of Harlem was incorporated in 1884. However, was renamed to Forest Park, and officially incorporated under that name on April 17, 1907. For much of its history, Forest Park was known as a "Village of cemeteries", with more dead "residents" than living ones; some figures estimate the ratio at 30:1, dead to alive. Forest Park cemeteries include Altenheim, Jewish Waldheim (producer Mike Todd is buried in Beth Aaron there), Woodlawn (including Showmen's Rest), and Concordia. Forest Home Cemetery is home to the famous Haymarket Martyrs' Monument. From 1925 to 1931, Forest Park had a radio station with a variety of call letters. The station began in 1925 as WHT. It was known as WNBA, with its studios near Des Plaines and Roosevelt Road from 1927 to 1928. In 1929, the call letters changed again, this time to WSOA and again to WCHI in 1929. As WSOA, the radio station had 5,000 watts of power. It went off the air for good in 1931. The Naval Ordnance Station Forest Park (originally a Naval Ordnance Plant) operated from early in World War II until most of the plant was replaced by a mall in 1971, with some of the site used as a Naval Reserve center until 2007. The plant employed up to 6,500 workers and produced 19,000 torpedoes during World War II. In 2007, the town held a summer-long centennial celebration. Forest Park has also…

Geography

Forest Park is located at (41.873031, -87.811155). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Forest Park has a total area of , all land. The Des Plaines River runs through Forest Park.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  134,982
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  134,970
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  119,266
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  95,570
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  88,420
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  77,222
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  76,586
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  76,539

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 3.1 — 2024-07-15
  2 km WNW of Somonauk, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois
• M 3.8 — 2010-02-10
  2 km NW of Lily Lake, Illinois