The Norwood Park Historical District (also known as Old Norwood) is a
historic district in the
Norwood Park neighborhood of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. It is bordered by Bryn Mawr, Avondale, and Harlem Avenues, and is home to the
Noble-Seymour-Crippen House, which was built in 1833 and is widely considered to be the oldest house in Chicago. (However, it was not located in Chicago at the time it was built; Norwood Park was annexed to Chicago in 1893.) The historic district is also home to Norwood Park Public School,
William Howard Taft High School, Norwood Park (the park), Myrtle Park, and Norwood Circle Park. The district was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2002.
The district was first settled in 1833, when Mark Noble Sr. built
his house northwest of
Chicago
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. However, the area remained sparsely populated when the
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
built a station there in 1864. The Norwood Park Land and Building Association (NPLBA) formed in 1868 to purchase of farmland with the intention of developing a suburb. The organization was led by Thomas H. Seymour, a broker at the
Chicago Board of Trade, and educator John Eberhart. The town was named after the novel ''Norwood, or Village Life in New England'' by
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...
; "Park" was added because another Illinois post office already held the Norwood name.
References
External links
Noble-Seymour-Crippen House
Historic districts in Chicago
North Side, Chicago
Neighborhoods in Chicago
National Register of Historic Places in Chicago
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
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