History and Points of Interest
THE CITY OF MARKHAM
1925-2005
Current Population 12,620
It is claimed this area was a beach 10,000 years ago. After countless
ages of geological
swamps, marshes and sloughs, the prairies dominated the landscape with
groves of trees,
flowers and wild life in abundance!
Markham, at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, had been a crossroad for
early pioneers.
In 1861, a treaty was made with the Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawatomi Indians
which
ceded a corridor of land located between the mouths of Chicago and the
Calumet Rivers
to the settlers. The southern boundary, known as the Indian Boundary Line
was to run
along a line which is now Interstate 57, which runs through our city.
The village of Markham was established in 1925 with a population of less
than 300. In
the middle 1930’s the Croissant Park subdivision was built and increased
the population
from 349 to 1,388. After World War II, Markham’s population doubled
to 2,753 residents
by 1950. The village developed into a bedroom community as residents sought
homes,
not industry. An airport developed at 165th and Kedzie and was the nearest
field to
Chicago outside the urban smog range. The airport site was near the location
which is
now the Cook County Sixth District Courthouse. On August 24, 1967, the
Village of
Markham was incorporated, as a city.
HISTORICAL SITE-THE LONE PINE TREE
In 1860 a German immigrant named Lawrence Roesner made his way to the
southern
boundary and settled on land located in the northwestern corner of Markham.
He brought
with him six seedlings from the Black Forest of Germany and planted them
along the
Indian Boundary line. “This Lone Pine Tree” was adopted as
the official City symbol in
1985. The lone survivor of six pine trees brought from the Black Forest
in 1860, died
in 1986. The Markham City Council appropriated money to get a replacement
tree
from the Black Forest in Germany, which the Markham Garden Club planted
that year.
Read more about the history of the City of Markham at Encyclopedia
of Chicago
