Havelock Post Office

The ridge along the western edge in the northwest section of Lake View Township attracted few settlers when the land was originally opened for settlement in the late 1830s. A tavern on a rise in the area was operated by Hiram Roe and a typographic error at a later date changed the reference to the area from Roe's Hill to Rose Hill. (Later usage combined the words to Rosehill.)

Samuel Rohrer, a livestock dealer, settled at Rose Hill in 1837, but within a year moved to Evanston.

Between 1842 and 1847, a number of farmers settled along the ridge road which ran through Rogers Park and West Ridge from Rose Hill to Evanston.

A railroad stop was established across from the Rosehill Cemetery enterance, and ultimately a station was built. The station was variously called "Rosehill" or "Havelock," with the latter name given to the post office when it was established. The source of the name "Havelock" is unknown. It may have been the name of a prominent person in the Edgewater Community, or it culd have been taken from an English 14th Century metrical romance called Havelock. Such fanciful names were used in a number of Chicago suburbs.

J.H. Anderson, a stonemason, who fashioned many of the grave markers at the cemetery, later served as postmaster at Havelock, occupying one of the buildings that were clustered near the station.

The first postmater was William E. Dye, and occupied the office from its opening in 1860 until August 1862. Obviously his $9.98 salary was not his total income, but there is little indication as to his other pursuits. When the first police force was formed for the Town of Lake View on April 2, 1866, Dye was one of the four men making up that body.