Edgewater Historical Society

The Edgewater Historical Society was founded in January of 1988 to involve the Edgewater community in the preservation of its history. The impetus to form the Society was the 1986 celebration of the Edgewater Centennial, during which the Edgewater Community Council conducted an oral history project. From that project grew a great interest in researching and documenting neighborhood streets and structures.

The Edgewater Historical Society operates the Museum pictured above and conducts Home Tours and Walking Tours throughout the year.

Edgewater is a Chicago community of 62,000 people in an area bounded by the Lake, Foster, Ravenswood and Devon. The name Edgewater originated with developer John L. Cochran, who began creating a small town here in 1880. By 1910, the name Edgewater was being used through the area. Today, Edgewater is composed of several neighborhoods including Andersonville.

The Edgewater Historical Society logo below represents the four-mile electric railway which Cochran built in 1892 to connect his Edgewater community to Diversey Avenue in Chicago. It also illustrates the style of the word Edgewater which Cochran used in his newspaper ads for the new community.