Lincoln Park · Chicago
Lincoln Park house history: the records behind your Chicago home
A Lincoln Park house can have a long paper trail. Where it starts depends on two things: whether your block is north or south of Fullerton Avenue, and whether your house went up before or after the fire of 1871.
From the Cabbage Patch to the park
Most of the early European settlers here were German truck farmers, and their produce earned the area the nickname "Cabbage Patch." By 1852 the German community was building St. Michael's Church. The city made the southeastern part of the area its cemetery in 1837. The graves were later moved, the land became Lake Park in 1864, and a year later it was renamed Lincoln Park for the assassinated president. In 1863 Cyrus McCormick sponsored the seminary that later took his name.
In 1871 the Great Fire swept through much of Lincoln Park and destroyed most of the structures there. Residents rebuilt fast, many at first in temporary wooden shacks, before the city extended its fire limits to the city boundaries in 1874. Late in the century came Crilly Court, designed by Daniel F. Crilly, and in 1898 St. Vincent's College, renamed DePaul University in 1907.
Source: Encyclopedia of Chicago, "Lincoln Park."
North or south of Fullerton
In 1853 Chicago's limits were extended north to Fullerton Avenue between the lake and Halsted Street, and by 1869 the line ran along Fullerton all the way west. North of Fullerton was the town of Lake View, which stayed separate until Chicago annexed it, effective July 15, 1889. Today's Lincoln Park community area takes in blocks on both sides of that old line.
South of Fullerton, a house built after 1872 was inside the city when it went up, so the city's permit ledgers are a good place to start.
North of Fullerton, a house built before 1889 was in Lake View, and it usually won't have a Chicago permit. Permits there begin to appear in the city's ledgers after annexation. For those houses, fire-insurance maps, directories, the census and the neighbors' permits carry more of the story. See our Lake View records guide.
Sources: A. T. Andreas, History of Cook County (1884); City of Chicago Bureau of Maps annexation map; Encyclopedia of Chicago.
The records that exist for a Lincoln Park home
Not every house has every record. Here is what there is, and what each one can tell you.
- Chicago building permits, 1872–1954Digitized by the UIC Library: 90 handwritten ledgers and an index by address. A permit can name the owner, the type of building and its cost, and after 1912 usually the architect.
- The 1909 renumberingIn 1909 Chicago renumbered nearly every address. The city's printed Plan of Re-Numbering links old numbers to new, so older records can be searched under the number your house had then.
- Sanborn fire-insurance mapsThe Chicago Public Library's index lists, south of Fullerton, volume 2 editions of 1906 and 1935, updated into 1950. North of Fullerton, it lists volume 9 editions of 1894 and 1923, updated into 1950. The index covers only those two series, so other maps may exist.
- An 1886 real estate atlasThe Newberry Library shows four sheets of Elisha Robinson's 1886 atlas of Chicago, covering the blocks between North Avenue and Fullerton, Halsted and Sedgwick. It draws the buildings but doesn't name lot owners.
- Chicago Historic Resources SurveyA citywide survey of buildings put up before 1940, carried out between 1983 and 1995. It recorded 1,677 buildings in Lincoln Park.
- Census and city directoriesWho lived at the address, decade by decade, including the original 1940 and 1950 census sheets at the National Archives.
- Cook County ClerkRecorded deeds can be searched online from 1985 to the present. Older deeds are in tract books, available only in person at the Clerk's downtown office.
- Cook County AssessorProperty characteristics and an estimated year built. It's an estimate, and we label it that way.
See what a report looks like
Our full sample is for 2845 N. Clark St., a North Side building a few blocks north of Lincoln Park, in Lake View.
It shows the method we use for any address. We find the pre-1909 number (this one was No. 1414), place the building on the 1894 Sanborn map, and read the permits for the buildings around it. Then we follow the people who lived and worked there through directories, newspapers and the census. Every line is cited, and page 16 lists every record set we searched, including the ones that came up empty.
How the $47 report uses these records
What goes in depends on what the records hold for your address, and on which side of Fullerton it sits.
- Your address, then and nowwe look up the pre-1909 number in the city's renumbering plan and search older records under both numbers.
- The original building permit, if one is on filetranscribed from the handwritten ledger and checked against the index card. If there isn't one, we say so and explain why.
- Your block on a fire-insurance mapwhenever an edition covers it, with the map cited by volume, year and sheet.
- Who lived hereheads of household from the census and city directories, decade by decade.
- Who owned itfrom the Clerk's online index for 1985 on, and for earlier years from permits, old notices, directories and the census. Gaps are marked.
- Your neighborswhen the buildings around yours went up, from their permits and the city's survey.
- Every source listedplus a checklist of every record set we searched, including the ones that came up empty.
Every fact is footnoted. Anything we couldn't confirm is marked unverified. The report is historical research, not a title search. One price, $47, for everything we find.
Questions
Does it matter whether my Lincoln Park house is north or south of Fullerton?
Yes. Chicago's limits reached Fullerton Avenue along the lakefront in 1853 and all the way west to the river by 1869. Land north of Fullerton belonged to the town of Lake View until Chicago annexed it, effective July 15, 1889. Chicago's permit records cover buildings inside the city at the time, so a house north of Fullerton built before 1889 usually won't have a Chicago permit card, while one south of Fullerton built after 1872 may.
Were Lincoln Park houses destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire?
The 1871 fire swept through much of Lincoln Park and destroyed most of the structures there. Residents rebuilt quickly, and in 1874 the city extended its fire limits to the city boundaries. The records for a particular house, such as its permit, the fire-insurance maps and the survey date, are the way to tell when yours went up.
Did my house have a different address?
Very likely, if it was built before 1909. That year Chicago renumbered nearly every address in the city. We look up your building's old number in the city's printed 1909 renumbering plan and search the older records under that number too.
Can I look up old deeds for a Lincoln Park house online?
Only from 1985 on. The Cook County Clerk's online index covers 1985 to the present. Earlier deeds are in the Clerk's tract books, which are only available in person at the Clerk's downtown office. For earlier years, our reports build the ownership history from permits, old notices, directories and the census, and mark the gaps.
How much does a Lincoln Park house history cost?
$47 for a fully cited PDF, delivered within 72 hours. If the records for your address are too thin for a real report, we refund you in full.
Who lived in your Lincoln Park house?
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