Local history

Skokie Public Library is built on the homeland and trading ground of many Native American people and tribes, including the Council of Three Fires (the Ojibwe, the Potawatomi, and the Odawa), and many other nations. 

A diverse suburb today, Skokie has a rich and varied history. Explore Skokie’s past using the library’s digital collections or visit in person to use print resources and get help from staff.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO SKOKIE

By 1836, Native Americans in what is now Niles Township had been forcibly removed to other areas of the country. Though European American settlers had lived near Skokie in the early 1830s, the first wood-frame house was built by Prussian immigrants Henry and Louisa Harms in 1854. 

The growing community was known as Niles Center because it was located in the middle of Niles Township, and from the late 19th to early 20th century, it consisted largely of small farms and greenhouses. The village changed its name from Niles Center to Skokie in 1940. 

A transition from farming to real estate development began in the 1920s, which was cut short during the Depression, but which revived after World War II. For more information on these periods, look through our At Home in Skokie digital collection. 

In the latter half of the twentieth century, the racial and ethnic diversity of Skokie expanded as a result of specific policy, including the passage of one of Illinois' first fair housing ordinances, as well as community organization with programs like the annual Festival of Cultures.

Research Overview

If you're interested in learning more about local history, here are some places to start:

RESEARCHING PEOPLE

There are many different ways to learn about our community members, whether they’re people you know, prominent figures in our history, or simply people who lived and worked in the same places you do now. For general research into historical Skokie residents:

If you’re doing genealogical research or looking for someone specific, look through our digitized newspapers. You can also search Ancestry Library Edition, a huge genealogical database of historical records. We also have digitized yearbooks from Niles East, Niles North, and Niles West, as well as the NileHiLite, a student publication from Niles East that ran from 1939 to 1980.

Newspapers and Obituaries

One of the best ways to research local history is by looking at primary sources, particularly local news. Skokie has been served by several newspapers throughout the years and you can access them through the library. From articles to the classifieds to advertisements for the latest gadget, the newspapers will give you a unique look into Skokie’s history.

Newspapers

We have digitized our archive of historical newspapers from the 1930s through present day, including the Niles Center Herald, the Skokie Review, the Skokie Life, and the News. This is only available to view inside the library, but if you’d like to explore headlines while outside the library, try our Skokie Newspaper Index. If you find an article you’d like to read in full, come to the library or contact us for a copy.

Obituaries

For local obituaries, start with the Skokie Newspaper Obituary Index, which will give you an exact citation. You can come to the library to view that obituary in our Historical Skokie Newspapers database or contact us for a copy.
If you’re looking for an obituary from somewhere else, try searching Ancestry Library Edition (only available inside the library) or Heritage Hub, both of which collect records from many sources.

RESEARCHING HOMES AND BUSINESSES

If you’re interested in researching your home or another favorite building in Skokie, a good place to start is our At Home in Skokie collection, which describes early twentieth-century real estate development. You can also look at photos of early Skokie homes and businesses in the Skokie History Project.

If you’re looking for more recent records, you can also search our public records database or the Cook County Clerk’s Office. There are current maps available from the Niles Township Assessor.

Discrimination and Fair Housing

Like many mid-sized American communities, Skokie has a history both of discrimination and of increasing diversity. Housing discrimination in Skokie and elsewhere in Chicagoland often took the form of official policies that went beyond individual prejudice. For instance, racial restrictive covenants limited the sale of property in an area to certain races. The practice commonly known as redlining assigned risk levels to certain areas, giving white residents better mortgage chances than their peers in minority communities. For more information, Lake Forest College has a digital collection which includes an interactive map. Unvarnished is an online exhibit looking at housing discrimination in the northern and western United States.

Things slowly began to change Skokie during the mid-20th century. In 1961, a Black couple from Hyde Park purchased a home in Skokie, despite significant difficulties and pushback from the community, which ultimately led to the passage of a fair housing ordinance. 

Maps and Directories

For overviews of the geography and changing boundaries of Skokie, Skokie: A Community History Using Old Maps covers 1830 to 1984. Geographical Growth of Skokie covers 1888 to 1983. View the changing landscape from a bird's-eye view through aerial photographs in our digital collections in addition to those in the Illinois Historical Aerial Photography database.

There are also a number of individual maps and other resources available from the library and elsewhere online:

ATTEMPTED NAZI MARCH IN SKOKIE 

In the late 1970s, a Chicago-based neo-Nazi group attempted to hold a rally in Skokie, resulting in pushback from the community, counterrallies, and several court cases, one of which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Skokie Public Library has an online archive of newspaper coverage, audio recordings, a timeline, and other artifacts documenting what happened.

Go further with your research

The Skokie Heritage Museum offers programs, walking tours, and is the current home of Skokie’s oldest log cabin. 

Other local museums and history centers include the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, the Niles Historical and Cultural Center, the Wilmette Historical Museum, and the Evanston History Center.

For research beyond Skokie, the Chicago Collections includes information from Chicago area communities and organizations, and the Illinois Digital Heritage Hub includes collections from across the state, including materials from public, institutional, and university libraries. 

Umbrasearch has digitized collections specifically about African American history, and the Digital Public Library of America and the Library of Congress digital collections both contain a wealth of resources to help you.