Edgewater Historical Society

From HistoryWiki

Edgewater Historical Society Soundex Code S230

[|Website of the Edgewater Historical Society]

About the Edgewater Historical Society

The Edgewater Historical Society was founded in January of 1988 to:

1. involve the community in the research, documentation, collection and preservation of Edgewater History;

2. promote the study, sharing and enjoyment of that history; and,

3. promote the preservation of landmarks and historical structures.

The impetus to form the Society was the 1986 celebration of the Edgewater Centennial, during which the Edgewater Community Council conducted an oral history project. From that project grew a great interest in researching and documenting neighborhood streets and structures.

The Edgewater Historical Society operates its Museum and conducts a Home Tour every year.

Governance

The Edgewater Historical Society is governed by a board of directors consisting of up to 21 members. At least one third of the positions are up for election by the membership every year at the annual meeting of the Society. The term of office is three years. During the year, vacant positions may be filled by the Board of Directors, and a person so elected fills the remaining term of a board member who resigned or died.

The officers of the society are elected by the board of directors at its first meeting after the general membership meeting and serve for one year or until their successors are elected. Since its founding in 1988, the Society has had only three presidents: Kathy Gemperle, Betty Mayian, and Robert Remer.

Their Community

Edgewater is a Chicago community of 58,000 people in an area bounded by the Lake, Foster, Ravenswood and Devon. The name Edgewater originated with developer John Lewis Cochran, who began creating a planned community here in 1886. By 1910, the name Edgewater was being used throughout the area. Today, Edgewater is composed of several neighborhoods including Andersonville.

Their Logo

The Edgewater Historical Society logo represents the four-mile electric railway which Cochran built in 1893 to connect his Edgewater community to Diversey Avenue in Chicago. It also illustrates the style of the word Edgewater which Cochran used in his newspaper ads for the new community.

The Edgewater Historical Society's Newsletter

The Edgewater Scrapbook is our quarterly newsletter. The Edgewater Historical Society website (link above) contains the text of nearly every article published in Scrapbook newsletters since 1988.

Their Website

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