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The Village of Morton Grove
Index For up-to-date information on Morton Grove Village officials, see our Government Officials page.
1950 - 3,926 1960 - 20,533 1970 - 26,369 1980 - 23,747 1990 - 22,373 2000 - 22,451 The 2000 Census showed the following population breakdown: White - 73%, Asian - 22.1%, Hispanic - 4.4%, Black - 0.6%, American Indian - 0.1%, other - 1.1%, multiple race - 1.9%.
Online Report Cards for individual public schools are provided annually by the Illinois State Board of Education. Public Elementary | District Map
Public High Schools
Community College
Special Education
Private Schools
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This history of Morton Grove was compiled from the Morton Grove Diamond Jubilee: 1895-1970 (1970. 977.31 MOR) and the Morton Grove Centennial Celebration: 1895-1995, published by the Morton Grove Centennial Commission. (1995. 977.31 MOR) In the early 1830s, English families named Beckwith, Curtis, White, Weldon, Dewes and Jefferson, migrated to what is now the Lehigh-Beckwith area settling in rich and fertile farmland. No roads led to the area, and these newcomers had to use old Indian trails which had been made by the Pottowatomi, Kickapoo, Miami and Blackhawk tribes. As the population of Chicago grew, more early settlers ventured in a northwesterly direction. In the early 1840s, families of German and Prussian extraction arrived, bearing such names as Huscher, Haupt, Lochner, Meyer, Hoffman, Dilg, Yehl, Theobald and Gabel. Many descendants of these early settlers still reside in the Village. Much of this area, primarily north of Dempster Street extending between Waukegan Road and Austin Avenue, was wooded and had to be cleared before it could be farmed. About 1841, as probably the first business in the settlement, a water-powered saw mill was erected near Dempster Street and the North Branch of the Chicago River. The only road which led to Morton Grove was at that time a toll road and started at Ashland and Lincoln Avenues in Chicago, went through Niles Center (now Skokie) and connected with Millers Mill Road (now Lincoln Avenue) into Morton Grove. In 1872, the Milwaukee Railroad constructed a single track from Chicago to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and purchased the Millers Mill property for a right of way, thereby, radically transforming transportation and communications. There were about 100 residents in the settlement at that time and as the flag stop for the railroad the community was unofficially named Morton Grove (named for the groves of trees surrounding the settlement and for Levi Parsons Morton, a director of the Milwaukee Railroad in 1872 and Vice President of the United States from 1889-1893). In 1891, the first subdivision of homes was established by George Fernald and George Bingham. This subdivision encompassed the land from Millers Mill Road to Capulina Avenue. The dirt roads in the subdivision were named Ferris, Callie, Fernald and Georgiana Avenues. The Library stands on part of that land. In 1895, the Village of Morton Grove was incorporated, three years after becoming an official train stop. The dedication of Monument Park in 1921 was a tribute to village men who had served in World War I and the statue to the Doughboys still stands on the Library grounds. The 1920s brought night club entertainment to Morton Grove, and following the Depression in the 1930s came a unified period of steady and healthy growth in Morton Grove. In the post-World War II boom era of the 1950s, the Village experienced its greatest period of growth, exhibiting industrial flux, new subdivisions, housing developments, and the expansion of its boundaries. The population jumped from just under 4,000 in 1950 to approximately 20,500 in 1959. This dramatic growth tapered off in the 1960s bringing a period of relative calm and prosperity. In June 1981, Morton Grove gained national exposure as the first community in the nation to pass an ordinance restricting the private possession of handguns within the Village. Morton Grove is, in 2005, a community of approximately 22,500 residents in an area primarily consisting of single-family homes with some growing condominium developments on Lincoln Avenue. Data from the 2000 Census (population listed at 22, 451) shows tthat roughly 34% of the total population is age 55 and older; only 23% is below 20 years old.
A small percentage of the residents work in Morton Grove; other residents are commuters, either to neighboring suburbs or to the Loop, 15 miles southeast, accessible from Morton Grove by expressway, train and express bus routes. Approximately 15% of the population of Morton Grove is Asian, primarily Filipino, Korean, Asian Indian, and Chinese. Today, Morton Grove has an aging population, people who moved here in the '50s and stayed, due to low taxes, good transportation, excellent schools, good village services, and a unique small town atmosphere and environment. Despite this emphasis on the small town mystique, Morton Grove has been on the cutting edge of change in the Chicago metropolitan suburbs: one of the first to have a comprehensive park system; the first to have a high school closed due to declining enrollment; the first to enact a handgun ban; the first to be wired for cable television; and the first to train and employ paramedics as a part of the Fire Department. The Village has maintained its small town atmosphere throughout its history. It's a small town where the older population all know each other and socialize through the numerous senior citizen activities available in the community. Morton Grove is, in the 21st century, an "aging" community, only just beginning the move to a changing, younger population -- mostly Asian and Eastern European. It is a community stable in population growth and infused with widely diverse cultures, a community shaped by its past and in transition to a new future.
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