Far North Side
The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. - James 5:16
O'Hare remained largely undeveloped prior to World War ll. During the early 1840's, few families and immigrants from Germany settled in what would eventually become Higgins Road. In 1887, a depot along the Wisconsin Central Railroad opened in Orchard Place, an unincorporated area in the northeastern section of O'Hare.
Despite the railroad, very few people settled in Orchard Place, and residential subdivisions that were built in the 1930's all but vanished after World War ll. In 1942, Douglas Aircraft took over Orchard Place for the production of cargo planes during World War ll.
The facility then became a commercial airport. In 1947, the Chicago City Council picked Orchard Place as the location. Facilities in the area were removed. To establish control over the airports area, Chicago annexed O'Hare in March 1956. The accelerated success of the airport precipitated the increase in neighboring land values.
information courtesy of Moody Publishers
"Chicago Neighborhood Prayer Guide" by Dr. John Fuder with Elizabeth Koenig