Gross Pointe

From HistoryWiki

Gross Point was the center of a German immigrant, farming community that spread across the open fields west of what is now Ridge Road.

It was later constrained in size to that of a village. The Village of Grosse Point wend bankrupt in 1924. It was subdivided among several suburbs, with large pieces going to Evanston and Wilmette.

In 1874, the Village of Gross Point was incorporated with a population of approximately 300 people. The boundaries of the new community were Ridge Road on the east, Locust Road on the west, Winnetka Avenue on the north and Central Street in Evanston on the south. The Gross Point Village Hall, at 609 Ridge Road, which now houses the Wilmette Historical Museum, was built in 1896.

At the same time, Gross Point's population was growing, although in less dramatic fashion than Wilmette's because the community retained a farming focus. The population increased from 327 in 1880 to 669 in 1900, and by the time of its last census figure in 1910, had reached 1,008 residents. In April of 1919, with its neighbor to the east a burgeoning suburb and the passage of the Prohibition (18th) Amendment threatening Gross Point's many saloons and economic prosperity, the Gross Point citizens voted to dissolve their municipal government.

It was not until 1923, the year the Gross Point Village Hall, at 609 Ridge Road, was finally sold to pay village debts, that the first steps toward dissolution were taken, however. Some residents organized a last-ditch effort to save the village through a referendum in January 1924, but the attempt was voted down in a special election and the process of annexation to Wilmette moved ahead. In two annexations in 1924 and 1926, Gross Point was annexed to Wilmette.

The old Village Hall is located at: at 609 Ridge Road, which is now the home of the Wilmette Historical Society (WilmetteHistory.org).