Maywood is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, United States, in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 census.

History

There was limited European-American settlement in the Maywood area before a railroad was built after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, which stimulated the rise of Chicago. At least one house in what became Maywood is known to have been used as a station on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

, to aid refugee African-American slaves in escaping to freedom in the North. Some settled in the free state of Illinois; others went on to Canada, which had abolished slavery, seeking further distance from slavecatchers. The site of the former house has been nationally commemorated. The plaque is located at today's Lake Street and the

Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River ( ) is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American H ...

bridge. This early West Side suburb of Chicago was developed along the oldest railway line that led away from the city. It attracted real estate developers because of its open grass prairie and scattered groves of ancient trees. In 1868,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

businessmen established the Maywood Company. In 1870 it organized the platting of streets, and began construction on the north side of the

Chicago Great Western The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota ...

railroad tracks. The company planted 20,000 eight-year-old, nursery-grown trees to enhance the future town. By 2010, the last of these 148-year-old trees had succumbed to the

emerald ash borer The emerald ash borer (''Agrilus planipennis''), also known by the abbreviation EAB, is a green buprestid or jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia that feeds on ash trees, ash species (''Fraxinus'' spp.). Females lay eggs in bark crevices o ...

. The oldest documented

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

in northeast Illinois is in Maywood and is dated at 250 years old. It is being protected from the borers with horticultural treatment. The danger is expected to pass locally by year 2020, as it already has in

Canton, Michigan Canton Township (commonly known simply as Canton) is a charter township in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Canton is located roughly west of downtown Detroit, and e ...

, where borers were first seen. The ash is nicknamed "The Great Dane", after Jens Jensen, founder of the Midwest's prairie ecology movement a century ago. The tree is located within old growth woods just behind Proviso East high school. With settlement underway, the village was founded on October 22, 1881, by Colonel William T. Nichols. He named it after his late daughter, May, and the groves. Many century-old homes survive here in relatively unaltered condition. Maywood boasts 17 homes and properties listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. At one time two airports operated in Maywood.

Loyola University Medical Center Loyola Medicine, also known as Loyola University Health System, is a quaternary-care system with a main medical center campus in the western suburbs of Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The medical center campus is located in Maywood, w ...

was developed on the site of one former airport, at the southwest corner of First Avenue and Roosevelt Road. It was the airfield used by

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

during his days as an airmail pilot. Checkerboard Field was located at the southeastern corner of that intersection and was a private field. The land has been converted to a forest preserve meadow. There was some apparent consolidation of the fields in later years. Later, an automobile

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

racetrack was located here, along with a viewing grandstand.

Barney Oldfield Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was a pioneer American racing driver. His name was "synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". He was the winner of the inaugural List of American ope ...

raced on the track. The Hines Veterans Hospital constructed one of its buildings on the foundation of the former grandstand. In 2022, the mayor of Maywood, Nathaniel George Booker, was found intoxicated and asleep while occupying the drivers seat with the vehicle turned on on the

Kennedy Expressway The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the ...

, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Multiple

911 911, 9/11 or Nine Eleven may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** The 2001 September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, commonly referred to as 9/11 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that ousted the ...

calls were made, eliciting a response from the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...

, who paged the

Chicago Fire Department The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides firefighting services along with emergency medical response services, hazardous materials mitigation services, and technical rescue response services in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, un ...

for medical response, due to his heavily inebriated state. He was arrested for misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and cited for obstructing drivers on a highway. The Village of Maywood has yet to provide comment as of March 2025, despite

bodycam A body camera, bodycam, body-worn video (BWV), body-worn camera, or wearable camera is a wearable audio, video, or photographic recording system. Body cameras have a range of uses and designs, of which the best-known use is as a police bod ...

footage of the incident being viewed over 2 million times on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. The Village of Maywood has also yet to confirm if the vehicle involved in the crime, which is similar to those owned by the village for the purpose of personnel transport, is owned by the village.

Maywood in World War II

Maywood was established as the base for the 33rd Tank Company,

Illinois National Guard The Illinois National Guard comprises both Army National Guard and Air National Guard components of Illinois. As of 2013, the Illinois National Guard has approximately 13,200 members. The National Guard is the only United States military force e ...

. The Armory was located on Madison Street, two blocks east of First Avenue. It was organized on May 3, 1929, with the purpose of training men for combat. On November 25, 1940, 122 men of the 33rd Tank Company were inducted into active service to become Company B of the famous

192nd Tank Battalion The 192nd Tank Battalion of the United States Army was a federalized Army National Guard unit activated in November 1940. Deployed to the Philippines, the battalion was engaged in combat during the Japanese invasion and the US retreat to the Bata ...

, which fought in the

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

islands. Many of these American soldiers were taken prisoner by the Japanese and died in April 1942 on the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

. Of the 122 men of Company B, only 41 survived the war to return to Maywood. Their sacrifice has been honored with an annual Bataan Day Parade. Given such losses, Ian Smith, who headed the history department at

Proviso East High School Proviso East High School is a public secondary school in Maywood, Illinois which serves the educational needs of Maywood and three other villages within Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois: Broadview, Forest Park and Melrose Park. It is t ...

, said that "World War II hit the town of Maywood really hard."

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Maywood has a total area of , all land. Neighboring villages are Broadview to the south, Forest Park and River Forest to the east, Melrose Park to the north, and Bellwood to the west.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 23,512 people, 7,634 households, and 5,065 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 8,444 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 61.05%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 7.35%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.49% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 20.05% from other races, and 9.45% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 34.03% of the population. There were 7,634 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.68% were married couples living together, 24.09% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.65% were non-families. 27.94% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.33% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.86 and the average family size was 3.04. The village's age distribution consisted of 20.8% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $56,623, and the median income for a family was $64,212. Males had a median income of $33,250 versus $30,324 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $23,725. About 9.6% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89 operates elementary and middle schools.

Proviso Township High Schools District 209 Proviso Township High Schools District 209, established in 1910, is located in western Cook County, Illinois, US, near Chicago. Its headquarters are in Forest Park.

operates high schools, with

being located in Maywood. Emerson Elementary School is an elementary school in Maywood. Enrollment as of 2006 was 476 students. The school teaches grades kindergarten through fifth grade. Other elementary schools in Maywood include Garfield, Lincoln, Washington Dual Language Academy and Irving Middle School. Maywood residents may apply to Proviso Math & Science Academy in Forest Park.

Triton College Triton College is a Public college, public community college in River Grove, Illinois. History Junior College District 300 was voted into existence in a referendum in March 1964. In March 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purch ...

is the area community college.

Infrastructure

Maywood IL Commuter Station with CSX freight train

Transportation

Public transportation

The Village of Maywood is served by the

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

commuter

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Union Pacific West Line The Union Pacific West Line (UP-W) is a Metra commuter rail line operated by Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the Union Paci ...

. Trains go east to

Ogilvie Transportation Center The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (), on the site of the former Chicago and North Western Terminal, is a commuter rail train station, terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. For the last century, this site has served as the primary t ...

in Chicago and as far west as Elburn,

. Travel time from Maywood station to Ogilvie is 22 to 27 minutes. There are 13 inbound trains on weekdays, five on Saturdays and four on Sundays. Maywood station is in the heart of Maywood's

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

. Maywood is also served by Melrose Park station, located on the border of Maywood and Melrose Park on the west side of town. Pace Bus serves Maywood with lines and stops throughout the Village.

Illinois Prairie Path

The

Illinois Prairie Path The Illinois Prairie Path (often called the Prairie Path and abbreviated IPP) is a network of of bicycle trails, mostly in DuPage County, Illinois. Portions of the trail extend west to Kane County and east to Cook County. Most of the trail i ...

is a multi-use nature trail for non-motorized public use: it stretches for approximately 61 miles in Cook, DuPage and Kane counties in northeastern Illinois. It was the first U.S. rail-to-trail conversion in the nation in the 1960s, adapting a former right-of-way for the old Chicago Aurora & Elgin electric railroad. In Maywood, the path runs between North and South Maywood Drive on the west side of town and along the Adams Street right-of way.

Motor vehicle and air travel

Interstate 290, the

Eisenhower Expressway Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs westward from the Jane Byrne Interchange near the Chicago Loop. The portion of I-290 from Interstate 294, I-294 to its east end is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhowe ...

, bisects (north and south) the town as it goes from Chicago west to join

Interstate 294 Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled auxiliary Interstate Highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Forming the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois, I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80/ I-94 and Illino ...

, the Tri-State Tollway, in Hillside. Maywood is located between O'Hare and Midway airports.

Notable people

* Naima Adedapo, singer *

Harry Julian Allen Harry Julian Allen (April 1, 1910 – January 29, 1977), also known as Harvey Allen, was an aeronautical engineer and a Director of the NASA Ames Research Center, most noted for his "Blunt Body" theory of atmospheric entry which permitted success ...

, director of

NASA Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

Barbara Berger Barbara Berger (December 6, 1930 – January 27, 2016) was an American baseball catcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 120 lb., she batted and threw right handed. Born in Maywood, Illino ...

, catcher in

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

; sister of Norma Berger *

Norma Berger Norma A. Berger Taylor (December 22, 1932 – November 1, 2023) was an American baseball pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. Berger was nicknamed "Bergie״. Listed at , , she batted and th ...

, pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League; sister of Barbara Berger *

Donnie Boyce Donald Nathaniel Boyce (born September 2, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as head coach for Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois. He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes. ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

basketball NBA player * Jim Brewer, professional NBA basketball player * Dee Brown, professional NBA basketball player *

Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...

, professional NBA basketball player * Sterling Brown, professional NBA basketball player * Ray Buchanan, professional football player *

Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...

, architect, designer of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, capital city of Australia. *

Jevon Carter Leroy Jevon Carter ( ; born September 14, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers. A point guard for ...

, professional basketball player *

Eugene Cernan Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, United States naval aviator, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. Cernan traveled into space three times and ...

, astronaut, walked on the Moon during the

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

mission * Michael Curry, presiding bishop of Episcopal Church * Bill Donovan, pitcher for

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

* Todd Dulaney, gospel musician *

Michael Finley Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who is the assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He ...

, professional NBA basketball player *

Dennis Franz Dennis Franz Schlachta (; born October 28, 1944), known professionally as Dennis Franz, is an American retired actor best known for his role as NYPD Detective Andy Sipowicz in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''NYPD Blue' ...

, actor * Craig Hall, ballet dancer *

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He came to prominence in his late teens and early 20s in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and c ...

, Black Panther *

Shirley Jameson Shirley Jameson (March 29, 1918 – December 29, 1993) was an American center fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , , Jameson batted right-handed and threw left-handed. She was born i ...

, nationally recognized speed skater and softball player, and outfielder in

* Sheila Crump Johnson, co-founder of

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

. *

Jackie LaVine Jacqueline Carol LaVine (October 4, 1929 – October 21, 2022) was an American competition swimmer and Olympic medalist. Biography LaVine won her first medal in international competition, a gold, at the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, ...

, Olympic bronze medalist in swimming *

, aviator * Eugene Moore, politician who served as Cook County recorder of deeds and as a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

Ray Nitschke Raymond Ernest Nitschke (December 29, 1936 – March 8, 1998) was an American professional football player who spent his entire 15-year career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers. Enshrined in the Pr ...

, professional football player, Hall of Famer * Walter "Walt" Parazaider, saxophonist for rock band,

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...

, singer, musician, and award-winning songwriter *

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NBA player for 14 seasons, he was an NB ...

, professional basketball player, head coach of NBA's

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

* Wanda Sharp, Illinois state representative *

Jacques Paul Klein Jacques Paul Klein is a retired United States diplomat, who served as head of three United Nations peacekeeping missions: the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, United Nations Transition ...

, Ambassador; Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (Ret.); Major General, USAF (Ret.) * W.A. Yackey, decorated WWI pilot, 1920s aviator and final owner of Checkerboard Field. * Perrion Winfrey NFL Football player * Lud Foe, Hip Hop Musician

References

External links

Village of Maywood official website
{{authority control Villages in Cook County, Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Populated places established in 1869 1869 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois Villages in Illinois