Blog

Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Bernice Van der Vries at a luncheon thrown in her
honor at the end of her service on the CTA Board, 1971.
Credit: Illinois Legislative Council.

Bernice Van der Vries: Pioneer Lawmaker

Bernice Van der Vries, unfamiliar to most Winnetkans today, is one of the Village’s unsung heroes. When she retired from the Illinois House of Representatives in 1955, journalists described her as “the cornerstone of good government” and “one of the hardest working and best known members of the legislature.” She was born in Kansas in […]

Children play on the jungle gym at North Shore Country Day School, undated. Credit: NSCDS.

Jungle Gym Turns 100

2023 marks 100 years since the patent was approved for the very first jungle gym invented by Winnetkan, Sebastian Hinton. Over the last century, the jungle gym’s popularity and reach are practically impossible to calculate. Nearly every child across the world has climbed on, crawled under, or fell off a jungle gym. The very first […]

The Schmidt-Burnham Log House, 2023.

From Fixer-Upper to Community Treasure:

by Joan Evanich The 1830s Schmidt Burnham Log House sat proudly at its new site on May 6, 2003. The move that day was an exhilarating success, but this was no time for WHS to rest on its laurels. The real work was about to begin in the pursuit to open the longest continuously occupied […]

Christine Murdoch in docent’s clothing at the Log House opening, 2006.

WHS Will Miss Longtime Board Member

Appeared in the Spring/Summer 2023 Gazette by Helen Weaver After almost 20 years playing a variety of key roles longtime Winnetka Historical Society Board Member Christine Murdoch has hung up her WHS hat and retired from the board. Christine joined WHS in 2004, after the Schmidt Burnham Log House’s move to the Crow Island woods, […]

Louise Holland, 2015. Photo courtesy of Holly Marihugh.

Few but Mighty: Women Village Presidents

Appeared in the Spring/Summer 2023 Gazette by Nan Greenough Starting in 1915 – two years after Illinois passed women’s voting, but five years before the 19th Amendment – each Winnetka Village Council included at least one woman trustee. In 1980 Gwen Trindl broke the glass ceiling to become the first woman Village President. Gwen was […]

Land ownership map showing land owned by E. Ashley Mears approximately where 788 Walden is located today, 1880s. Credit: Library of Congress.

Fortune, Corruption, and Sham Mansions: The Story of E. Ashley Mears

Appeared in the Spring/Summer 2023 Gazette by Meagan McChesney, WHS curator After the Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of Chicago in 1871, thousands of urbanites flocked to the North Shore looking for a fresh start. While many saw this population boom as an opportunity to expand Winnetka’s tight-knit community, others sought ways to take advantage […]

Log House being moved on May 6th 2003

Log House Celebrates 20 Years in Crow Island Park

Appeared in the Spring Summer 2023 Gazette  by Joan Evanich It is hard to believe that the Schmidt-Burnham Log House moved to Crow Island Park 20 years ago this May. Surprisingly, it was not the first time the almost 200-year-old house was moved! The hand-hewn house originally was located at the current site of the […]

Dr. Morrison’s medicine kit, c. 1881.

The Village Doctor

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2022 Gazette by Meagan McChesney, PhD – WHS Curator While conducting research for the latest Explore Winnetka Stories feature on Winnetka’s earliest businesses, I happened upon a c. 1885 business card for Winnetka-based “Homoeopathist and Surgeon,” G. H. Morrison, M. D. Intrigued, I ran a search of Morrison’s name and […]