Evanston, IL Summer Camps

About Evanston, IL

Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan. The boundaries of the city of Evanston are coterminous with those of Evanston Township – although school districts 65 and 202 take in a small portion of eastern Skokie. Evanston is the home of Northwestern University.

History of Evanston, IL

Prior to the 1830s, the area now occupied by Evanston was mainly uninhabited, consisting largely of wetlands and swampy forest. However, Potawatomi Indians used trails along higher-lying prehistoric ridges that ran in a general north-south direction through the area, and had at least some semi-permanent settlements along the trails. A part of downtown Evanston, as seen in October 2005. French explorers referred to the general area as "Grosse Pointe" after a point of land jutting into Lake Michigan about 13 miles north of the mouth of the Chicago River. After the first non-native Americans settled in the area in 1836, the names "Grosse Point Territory" and "Gross Point voting district" were used through the 1830s and 1840s, although the territory had no defined boundaries. The area remained only sparsely settled, supporting some farming and lumber activity on some of the higher ground, as well as a number of taverns or "hotels" along the ridge roads. In 1850, a township called Ridgeville was organized, extending from Graceland Cemetery in Chicago to the southern edge of the Ouilmette Reservation, along what is now Central Street, and from Lake Michigan to Western Avenue in Chicago. The 1850 census shows a few hundred settlers in this township, and a post office with the name of Ridgeville was established at one of the taverns. However, no municipality yet existed. In 1851, a group of Methodist business leaders founded Northwestern University and Garrett Biblical Institute.

Evanston, IL City Statistics:

Population: 74239
Elevation: 600 feet. Longitude: -87.6945 Latitude: 42.0463