History of River Grove

Newsletter Information:

Back to the events related to the Battle of Fort Dearborn that occurred on August 15, 1812: the actions and intervention of Alexander Robinson resulted in several survivors of the attack, including Josette LaFramboise and the family of John Kinzie. The former was the sister of Claude LaFramboise. He came from a family of fur traders of French and Indian heritage and grew to hold a position of leadership in the Pottowatomi Indian tribe. Alexander Robinson also came from fur trader lineage and was of mixed British and Native American heritage. After the battle, he provided safe transport to Detroit for some of the surviving military officers. He would go onto to serve as Councilor to the Pottowatomi and Chippewa tribes and eventually would hold the title of Chief of these tribes. Both Alexander Robinson and Claude LaFramboise played critical roles in managing relations with the local Indian tribes after the Battle in 1812 and eventually negotiating a peaceful settlement and treaty with them. In recognition of these acts and bravery exhibited in the aftermath of the battle by Alexander Robinson, in 1833 the U.S. government granted both men large sections of land which now comprise areas in the Cook County Forest Preserves and portions of our Village and those of Franklin Park and Schiller Park. These reserves were centered about the Des Plaines River and located north of the Indian Boundary Line. The LaFramboise reserve would have been located in the northwest corner of our village. The northern section of this reserve was sold by Claude LaFramboise to his sister Josette Beaubien, who became the wife of John Beaubien, one of the founders of Chicago. Alexander Robinson was given 2 sections of land that lie directly north of the LaFramboise reserve. This area is believed to be the location of an ancient Indian burial site. Josette Beaubien is buried in a grave that lies along River Road just north of Belmont Avenue. A memorial sign that marks this site is shown below. Further along River Road, is now a road named after Robinson as well as portions of the Robinson Reserve in the Cook County Forest Preserves.

1833-Present

River Grove's past remains visible in the open spaces that make up approximately 50% of the community. The river and forest land, once home to the Potawatomi, was not officially opened for sale in River Grove until 1833, although special exceptions were made in private purchases from Indians. One such instance was that of half-French, half-Native American Claude LaFramboise, who, in the 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien, received land along the Des Plaines River that encompassed most of what would become River Grove. In 1833 Framboise sold the northern half of his land to his sister and the other half to Jesse Walker. Walker's share eventually passed to Walker's son-in-law, David Everett, who held Methodist services in his cabin. Triton College is now on the site of Everett's land.

In 1834 Walker and Everett erected a bridge that crossed the Des Plaines River along an Indian trail, later Grand Avenue. A stagecoach line using the trail and bridge took passengers from Chicago to Galena. In the 1840s the Spencer brothers built a hotel at the crossing to cater to travelers. The hotel and the settlement were named Cazenovia after the brothers' hometown in New York. The area east of the river was later named Turner Park.

In 1872 Richard Rhodes purchased land on the south side of Grand. He subdivided the 100 acres and put up six houses, calling the community Rhodes subdivision. A school and the First Presbyterian Church of River Park were established soon after. Both Rhodes and another subdivision west of the river, north of Grand near the railroad, were incorporated into River Grove in 1888. Altogether, this gave River Grove an estimated population of 200, four-fifths of whom were German.

Until the 1920s most newcomers into the area were German, predominantly Lutheran. Almost all were blue-collar workers, the majority working for the Milwaukee Railroad yards in Franklin Park. In 1920 Volk Realty established the Chicago Home Gardens subdivision north of the Oak Park County Club and west of Elmwood Park. Village residents had electricity, gas lines, and telephone service; a bank, movie theater, and Catholic church all were erected within the decade. The population rose to 484 in 1920 and by 1930 was at 2,741.

Triton College, on the village's southern border, opened in 1964. By 2000 River Grove's population had climbed to 10,668, with many of Irish, Polish, Croatian, and Italian heritage and a growing number of Hispanics. River Grove's vast amount of unoccupied space includes 350 acres of forest preserve, 290 acres of golf courses and cemeteries, 35 acres of public school property, and 6 acres of parkland.

(Information courtesy of Encyclopedia of Chicago

Letter from Andrew R. Madsen

Born in River Grove in 1924, long-time resident and mailman Andrew R. Madsen was kind enough to share his recollections of his time spent in River Grove in a letter. Read his Remembrances of the Past in Good Old River Grove.