Little Village South Lawndale history

By Mateo Goldin

  • Lawndale-Crawford

    Lawndale-Crawford area was established in 1827 after US Congress passed legislation granting the state 284,000 acres of land.

  • Families Move In

    Many families move in to this area after the Great Chicago Fire, early homes were built from stone as a precaution against fire damage.

  • Merging starts

    Population continued to grow after industries began to move in, suburbs moved into one. Germans and Czechs began to settle in this area

  • Bohemians begin to settle

    By 1900 Bohemian immigrants mainly replaced the earliar German and Dutch settlers.

  • South Lawndale reaches residential maturity

    Became largest Bohemian area outside of Prague, neighborhood started to rapidly develop, population was 84000 by 1920

  • No substantial change, but formation of many organization.

    Very politically and socially active, population declined until about 1960 when Latinos began to move in.

  • Latinos begin to settle in the area

    First of Chicago's 600,000 Mexican immigrants came to work on the railroads after the turn of the century, then after WWII. Area grew very rapidly

  • Influx of immigrants come in

    Many mexicans moved into this area from Pilsen due to being displaced by the construction of the UIC campus. Pushing them further west from downtown.

  • Not too long ago

    Lots of Latinos in the area do not have a highschool diploma and are poorer working class people but have made a big influence on Chicago and the neighborhood as a functioning Latino community.

  • Today

    Area is mainly Latino and has been gentrifying recently. Not many people have the privilege of owning a house, so this could be troublesome for some.