Oak Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Eugene Field Park
Eugene Field (1850-1895)
Photographed by Sean Flynn, August 13, 2023
1. Eugene Field Park Marker
Field Park and Center bears the name of Eugene Field, one of America's most beloved children's authors. Born on September 2, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri, Field dabbled in acting and law before settling into a career in journalism.
After writing for newspapers in Missouri and Colorado, Mr. Field moved to the Buena Park neighborhood of Chicago in 1883. He took a job with the Chicago Daily News where he authored a humorous, gossipy column that allowed him to write "what I please on any subject I please."
In 1879, Field published his first poem, "Christmas Treasures," and began a literary journey that would eventually earn him the moniker "The Children's Poet." He went on to pen several volumes of poetry, including some of the most well-known classics in children's verse such as "Wynken, Blynken and Nod," "Little Boy Blue," and "The Duel."
Eugene Field died in his sleep in Chicago, Illinois, on November 4, 1895, at the age of 45. In 1922, a memorial to his works depicting Wynken, Blynken and Nod was erected at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. He is one of six renowned children's authors for whom recreation centers and parks in the Park District of Oak Park are named.
Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night / Sailed off in a wooden shoe Sailed on a river of crystal light, / Into a sea ofdew.
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this page online
From "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" by Eugene Field
Erected by Park District of Oak Park.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical date for this entry is September 2, 1850.
Location. 41° 54.152′ N, 87° 48.003′ W. Marker is in Oak Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It can be reached from Division Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is immediately south of the Field Park Recreation Center in the west-central part of the park, near the alley. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 935 Woodbine Avenue, Oak Park IL 60302, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Gold Star Men of the World War (a few steps from this marker); Field Park Native Plants (within shouting distance of this marker); Mann Elementary (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ginkgo Biloba-Maidenhair Tree (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lindberg Park (approx. Ό mile away); Warren Cooney (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Lindberg Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); Ernest Hemingway Boyhood Home (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oak Park.
Regarding Eugene Field Park. The marker references Oak Park's six
Photographed by Sean Flynn, August 13, 2023
2. Eugene Field Park
The Field Park Recreation Center is immediately behind the marker, and a small stone with a marker for the Gold Star Men of the World War is visible in the center-right. Mann Elementary School is in the far background.
Also see . . . Eugene Field. A biography of Eugene Field from the Poetry Foundation
Excerpt: "Memorials to Field include the preservation of the Field home in Denver for many years as a branch library and the Eugene Field House in St. Louis. This latter was formally dedicated in 1902 by Mark Twain as Field's birthplace. It was not the place of his birth, as Roswell Field interrupted ceremonies to say, but Twain was undaunted and insisted that it was the formal and official recognition which mattered; the Eugene Field House in St. Louis remains a memorial open to visitors today. Monuments commemorating Field's work are 'The Rock-a-By Lady from Hush-a-By Street' in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and 'Wynken, Blynken and Nod' in Washington Park, Denver. Schools in many American cities were named for Field shortly after his death, and in Missouri 'Eugene Field Days' were observed annually across the state to honor the anniversary of the date of Field's death. Early in the twentieth century grade-school readers frequently included one of Field's childhood poems."
Photographed by Sean Flynn, August 13, 2023
3. Magnolia sign at Field Park
This Magnolia marker, near the north entrance to the park, is one of about a half dozen throughout the park devoted to natural elements of the park.
Photographed by Sean Flynn, August 13, 2023
4. Field Park Native Garden
This sign is one of several posted throughout a native garden in Field Park's southwest corner describing some of the plants.
Photographed by Sean Flynn, August 13, 2023
5. North entrance to Field Park on Berkshire Street
Internet Archive
6. Eugene Field, The Children's Poet
Drawing by De Ball from Ten wise men, and Some More by William Lightfoot Visscher, 1909, page 66.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 881 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 14, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 6. submitted on December 27, 2023, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
