Park Forest Historical Society Archive

Park Forest's fascinating and unusual history is preserved in the Park Forest Historical Society's irreplaceable Local History Collection and Archive. It is of interest to the community, former residents, scholars, schoolchildren, city planners, sociologists and historians throughout the world. The collection contains vital information about Park Forest, from birth to the present, as well as extensive documentation of both personal lives of citizens and the municipal life of the community through the years. Photos and videos of such things as the annual Fourth of July parade, The Plaza shopping center (one of the first two in the country), Pancake Day, and other memorable Park Forest people, places, and events are included.

In recent years, the archival collection was moved from its former location in the library to a storage area there.  In January 2007, the collection was endangered when the library storage area flooded. The collection was stored in PODS storage containers at a distant facility for five years. In January 2012, the collection was brought out of storage and is once again accessible to the public.  The Archive Office is in St. Mary's Catholic Church, Room 2, at 227 Monee Road in Park Forest.  It is open Friday 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and liberally by appointment.  Contact us through our email for an appointment to visit the collection. Click here to see what files are available at the Library, along with OH! Park Forest transcripts. Work has begun on finding a permanent home to provide staff, space for files and shelving, an office area, a public reading room, and exhibit and display space.  For now, we have settled into our new temporary home with volunteer staff, shelving, a small office area, and space for researchers.  Come and see us.  We are so happy to make the collection available again.  Support for this space is provided by the Park Forest Historical Society and the Park Forest Public Library, with matching challenge grant help from the Village of Park Forest.  We thank Father Tri, Father Dennis Spies, and St. Mary's Catholic Church for the space.

Local History: The Park Forest Historical Society through its local history collection will preserve written or recorded materials, photographs, and other items which document the history of Park Forest and provide a record of current and past happenings in the community.

The Park Forest Local History Collection and Archive were established in 1980-1981 by the Reference Staff of the Park Forest Public Library. The purpose of the collection is to gather and preserve any and all written, audio, visual, and electronically-stored information, or other items-current and historical-which document the history of Park Forest, Illinois and the area surrounding Park Forest, Illinois which affects its residents and its history. The collection will also include information on the history of suburbia in general and on the history of city planning which helps students and researchers to better understand the place that Park Forest, Illinois holds in the history of suburbia and of city planning. The greatest majority of items acquired by gift or purchase should relate to this village, the geographic area immediately surrounding it, its residents, physical structures, sites, activities, historical events, politics, geography, and social life. In these categories, the collection includes all primary and secondary sources related to Park Forest, Illinois, including, but not limited to directories, personal papers, correspondence, yearbooks, manuscripts, unpublished histories, photographs, films, recordings, organization records of clubs, businesses and agencies, etc.

Fridays: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.; or by appointment.
It is best to contact the Park Forest Historical Society Archivist before visiting the Archive or starting your research project to see where the best resources are located.

Please call Jane Nicoll, Archivist, at home (708) 481-4252 or email her to request resources or make an appointment to visit the Archive.

227 Monee Road
Park Forest, IL 60466

Room 2, inside St. Mary's Catholic Church

• Duplicates and originals of some of the 270+ subject files including Integration and Shopping Center history.
• Oral History project originals and photocopies
• Photographs, slides, negatives (5000 images)
• Regional history files
• Videotapes, DVDs, Audiotapes, CD-ROMs
• Manuscript Collections, including papers of some Village Presidents.
• Select Government documents, including minutes of the
  first Village Board meetings
• Scrapbook original copies
• Maps
• Newspapers, hard copies. (Access may be limited by condition.)
• Records and scrapbooks of some PF Organizations
• Yearbooks, (Duplicates, Incomplete holdings)
• Textiles (limited) Some items of Park Forest clothing, Nixon Girls felt skirt, 1948 U.S. Flag flown at 1948 Tent Meeting.

The Park Forest Local History Collection and Archive was started by the reference staff of the Park Forest Public Library in the early 1980s. Due to flooding in the Library basement, the bulk of the Archive was moved to remote storage in January 2007, where it remained for five long years.  In January 2012, the Archive, Society office and Digital Lab were liberated from storage. They are now housed in Room 2 of the former St. Mary's Catholic School in the church by the same name at 227 Monee Road. The collection includes copies of "OH! Park Forest," oral history transcripts, more than 270 subject files, scrapbooks, yearbooks, duplicate and originals of a number of news and magazine articles, along with many other collections. DVD's of documentary films, some yearbooks, and catalogued books on Park Forest and city planning, or citing Park Forest are kept at the Park Forest Public Library, 400 Lakewood Blvd. The Archive also has copies of several books on Park Forest and city planning, but the library is able to circulate copies they have. The 5,000+ image photograph collection is housed at the Archive Office at St. Mary's, along with duplicate files, duplicate yearbooks, the oral history recordings and master transcripts, and a number of other things. The Society archivist and volunteers provide access and reference service to this collection, including that at the Library. Some lists are available on this website, including on the Interactive Archive button. We hope to expand the number of lists in the future.

"Park Forest: An Illinois Planned Community"  Illinois Digital Archives

In 1998-99, the Library was awarded an IMLS grant through the Illinois State Library, of $39,500 to create a digital project, "Park Forest: An Illinois Planned Community. "Photographs, the original Plan of Town of 1946, documents, 27 of the 79 "OH! Park Forest" oral history interview transcripts, original sales brochures and news articles are available on the Illinois Digital Archives at www.idaillinois.org, or through the Society's website at www.parkforesthistory.org.  The other transcripts are only available in print format, though we do have a volunteer typing them into electronic form to be transferred to the digital project.

Ownership of the Collection Items

Ownership and responsibility for the photograph collection, digital project, and Park Forest Reporter hard copies have been transferred to the Park Forest Historical Society. The bulk of the Park Forest Local History Collection and Archive has come under Society protection in April 2016, with some basic research materials retained at the Park Forest Public Library. Hard copies of the Park Forest Reporter, The Park Forest News and Park Forest View are at the Archive Office.  The library transferred the microfilm of the Park Forest Reporter and Park Forest Star to the Governors State University Library in 2015. The videotape collection of about 135 3/4" Umatic tapes from the Cable companies, and many VHS tapes of past PFHS programs and masters of oral history interviews are owned by the Society, held at the Archive Office. The Park Forest Historical Society and Park Forest Public Library share the rent at St. Mary's. The Village of Park Forest has contributed to the preservation of Park Forest History in the form of multiple matching challenge grants of $5,000 to the Society, which have generously been met by our supporters.

Grants and Aid

In September 2013, PFHS was awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services Museums for America Collection Management Grant to better describe and catalog the collections at the 1950s Park Forest House Museum and the Park Forest Local History Collection and Archive. Many hours of work were donated to this grant which lasted through September 2015. PFHS has purchased PastPerfect Collection Maintenance software, a computer and a printer/scanner/fax machine with the grant to make this work possible.

In December 2013 we were awarded a National Endowment of the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant which has paid for a preservation consultant to write a report on the collection and its care and to make recommendations for improvement.  With that grant, we are able to purchase nearly $4,000 worth of supplies, including clean, acid-free buffered housing and cartons for the collection.