Park Ridge Public Library
A History of Park Ridge
Park Ridge Public Library, as a participant in the North Suburban Library System's Digital Past project, has digitized A History of Park Ridge by Dr. Orvis F. Jordan, Minister Emeritus of the Park Ridge Community Church. It was published in 1961 by George L. Scharringhausen, Jr.
Dr. Jordan originally wrote about fifty-seven chapters of the book as a weekly installment series in the Park Ridge newspaper the Park Ridge Herald.
In this fifty-eight chapter book, Jordan describes the beginnings of Park Ridge, before this area even had a name. He writes about the name changes, the forms of government, the village presidents and mayors, and the prominent citizens and business people of the city. Names like Gillick, Scharringhausen, Rand, Talcott and Meacham are sprinkled throughout the book. He also writes about the library, the schools and the churches. Unfortunately, the history ends in the late 1950s. No newer complete history on Park Ridge itself exists. Reading through this will give you a better sense of the history of Park Ridge.
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If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email or call the library.
To learn more about Digital Past or visit some of the other projects there, just stop by www.digitalpast.org