McKinley Park, Chicago
| McKinley Park | |
|---|---|
| Community area | |
| Community Area 59 - McKinley Park | |
Aerial view of the McKinley Park neighborhood.
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 Location within the city of Chicago |
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| Coordinates: 41°49.8′N 87°40.2′W / 41.8300°N 87.6700°WCoordinates: 41°49.8′N 87°40.2′W / 41.8300°N 87.6700°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Cook |
| City | Chicago |
| Neighborhoods |
list
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| Area | |
| • Total | 1.40 sq mi (3.63 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 15,612 |
| • Density | 11,000/sq mi (4,300/km2) |
| Demographics 2010 | |
| • White | 17.08% |
| • Black | 1.5% |
| • Hispanic | 64.76% |
| • Asian | 15.66% |
| • Other | 0.99% |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP Codes | parts of 60608 and 60609 |
| Median income | $36,010 |
| Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services | |
McKinley Park, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the city's southwest side.
McKinley Park is served by three neighborhood newspapers: the Bridgeport News, the Archer Journal News and the Brighton Park/McKinley Park Life. The neighborhood newspapers are delivered weekly on Wednesdays to homes, businesses and other establishments throughout the neighborhood.
McKinley Park has been a working-class area throughout its long history. Settlement began around 1836 when Irish immigrants working on the Illinois & Michigan Canal took squatter's rights to small tracts of land in the area. By the 1840s, a few farmers had purchased and drained land, displacing the Irish squatters. One of the first attempts at town-building in the area, 'Canalport,' failed, but Brighton was plotted in 1840 and incorporated in 1851.
The completion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal in 1848 and the arrival of the Chicago & Alton Railroad in 1857 spurred further subdivision of the area. The rails amplified the transportation advantages of the area, and during the Civil War, industries grew along the waterways and the railroad. The Union Rolling Mill was founded in 1863 along the south fork of the Chicago River and produced 50 tons of rail per day. Eventually, the firm became part of U.S. Steel. The Rolling Mill employed many newly arrived Welsh immigrants, who lived in nearby homes on Ashland and Archer Avenue's.
Many steelworkers lived in the triangle formed by Ashland Avenue, Archer Avenue and 35th Street in an area called Mt. Pleasant. The name was probably ironic, because of the adjacent steel mills, and because much of the area was swampy and undrained. Standing water bred hordes of mosquitoes, and spring flooding was so severe that many houses were built on stilts. Not surprisingly, a portion of McKinley Park was called “Ducktown.” Some landowners desperate to elevate their holdings invited scavengers to dump ashes and thereby fill low areas. Unfortunately the scavengers dumped not only ashes, but garbage as well. Thus the area was not only wet, but fetid. Even with these problems, McKinley Park was annexed to Chicago in 1863.
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