A Brief History of Bedford Park, IL
Bedford Park, IL is a quaint town that occupies just over six miles of Cook County. The residential area is relatively small with a population of about 600 people, while industrial structures are sprawling both to the east and to a small part of the west. Before the early 1900s, this area was flat prairie, but that all changed in 1906 and the rest, as they say, is history.
How did Bedford Park, IL get started?
The Corn Products Refining Company was the first to enter this area, breaking ground in 1906 to build a wet milling plant. Corn Products had a profound effect on the town, which was named after the company’s president, ET Bedford. Focus soon turned to housing for factory foremen and residential housing began to appear in 1919. Local government was established in 1924 with the formation of the Bedford Park Improvement Club.
Police and volunteer fire service and water service through the Corn Products well system brought the town into modern times. Interestingly, the fire department continued to use a two-wheeled horse-drawn cart until 1951. A one-room schoolhouse opened in 1925, and the Walker Schoolhouse opened in 1934 on its current site. In 1940, the town was incorporated and the first mayor, Henry C. Wahl, was elected.
Districts of Bedford Park, IL
Formed in 1939, the Park District served the residents of Bedford Park and the residents of the Bridgeview Gardens subdivision in nearby Bridgeview. The district now includes playgrounds, ball fields, a youth pool, biking and jogging trails, and the Swanson Center with fitness facilities and youth programs. The Library District was formed in 1962 and the first library opened a year later in the old pump house. In 1976 a new library was built on land donated by Corn Products.
This town has been home to major companies including 3M, Cracker Jack, CSX, and FedEx, and the Bedford Park Offsetting Industrial Association has played a major role in these and other commercial and industrial ventures. The Bedford Park Midway Hotel Complex developed in the 1980s now has eight hotels.
Today, both businesses and residents have a multitude of services at their disposal. In recent years the residential area of the town has been enhanced. This town is characterized by a strong focus on the past while looking to the future. It is a prime example of how industry and private citizens can live in harmony and help an area prosper.