Oak Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Birthplace of Oak Park
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
1. Birthplace of Oak Park Marker
Inscription.
Birthplace of Oak Park. . On this site in 1835, Joseph Kettlestrings and his wife, Betty, first settlers of Oak Park, built their cabin amid the oaks on "the only dry land between Chicago and the Aux Plaines.” It later became an inn called The Oak Ridge House, and was the area's first public eating place...a stopping point for travelers, and for cattlemen who drove their herds down the trail (now Lake Street) to Chicago., By Proclamation, August 3, 1962 , Oak Park Board of Realtors , John F. Butler, Jr., President,
On this site in 1835, Joseph Kettlestrings and his
wife, Betty, first settlers of Oak Park, built their
cabin amid the oaks on "the only dry land between
Chicago and the Aux Plaines.” It later became an inn
called The Oak Ridge House, and was the area's first
public eating place...a stopping point for travelers,
and for cattlemen who drove their herds down the
trail (now Lake Street) to Chicago.
By Proclamation, August 3, 1962
Oak Park Board of Realtors
John F. Butler, Jr., President
Location. 41° 53.305′ N, 87° 48.254′ W. Marker is in Oak Park, Illinois, in Cook County. Marker is at the intersection of Lake Street and Maple Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Lake Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1137 Lake Street, Oak Park IL 60301, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
2. Birthplace of Oak Park Marker - fuller view
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
3. Birthplace of Oak Park Marker - wide view
The marker is visible here on the left side of the building.
4. Betty Kettlestrings
5. Joseph Kettlestrings
6. Oak Park's First Hotel illustration
"Drawing made from the recollections of Mrs. P. J. Kester of 1860. The building pictured was the Oak Ridge hotel, the first house built in this neighborhood by the first settler, Joseph Kettlestrings. It was on the south side of Lake street, about 100 feet east of Harlem, according to Mrs. Kester. The floor of the front porch was even with the ground and was used by those who passed that way as a shelter in summer and winter. The long rambling stables of the caravansary was across Lake street.
It was destroyed by fire in 1866."
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 23, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 178 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 24, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.