Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 pm
Central School (103 S. Maple Street)
Cost: Suggested donation of $5
What’s it like to be a historian? We’ll find out at our inaugural Book Club meeting with Emily Dattilo, local author and Director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. We’ll discuss her new book, “Mount Prospect Historic Sites” and find out about her process for building the Museum’s collection, cataloging and organizing artifacts and data, and creating a story about the first hundred years of our history. What should be included in the collection? What makes an artifact historical? How should citizen historians participate in identifying and appreciating local history? Bring your curiosity to participate in a lively discussion about our Village.
Materials:
Book
Mount Prospect Historic Sites, by Emily A. Dattilo. Autographed copies of this book are available for purchase online or in-person at the Mount Prospect Historical Society. You can purchase your copy here. Three copies are also available at the Mount Prospect Public Library. You can also find copies of this book anywhere books are sold.
Maps
Please familiarize yourself with the Eggleston map (see map #1, also on page 69 of the Historic Sites book.) The other maps show how our area evolved: first as lightly populated farmland, the powerful change after a new train line was built, and finally the rapid mid-century growth by incorporating surrounding farms.
- https://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/p16614coll26/id/217/ Ezra Eggleston map, 1873
- https://pastmaps.com/explore/us/il/cook/mount-prospect – need to create a free account. Use the transparency slider in the top left of the map to see how the older maps match today’s Google map.
- https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593073/ Map of the Counties of Cook and DuPage, the east part of Kane and Kendall, the north part of Will, state of Illinois, created and published by Chicago, Il, James H. Rees, 1851. ******
- https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593075/ Cook County map from 1861. Downtown Mount Prospect straddles Wheeling Township and Elk Grove Township, section 33
- https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593088/ Snyder’s real estate map of Cook County, Illinois indexed, 1886, Mount Prospect shown in inset.
- https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593076/ Snyder’s real estate map of Cook and Dupage Counties, Illinois., 1890
- https://www.loc.gov/item/98688467/ Galbraith’s railway mail service maps, Illinois, 1897 – look at the Cook County inset in the lower left corner.
- https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01790_068/ Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Chicago, Cook County, Illinois., 1924 – Mount Prospect houses Read the first image for the color key explaining the different structures. Mount Prospect is on slides 32 – 37, images 29 -34
- https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#4/40.01/-100.06 and search for “Mount Prospect, IL” Similar results to the Past Maps site.
- https://history.wilmettelibrary.info/2487821/image/1394360 tMap Indian Trails and Village of Chicago and of Cook, Dupage and Will Counties, Illinois, Albert F Scharf, 1900-1901.