Forest Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Maria Werkmeister

Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 24, 2024

1. Maria Werkmeister Marker

Inscription. [German language text:]
Zum gedaechtniss an
Maria Werkmeister Gruenderin des Altenheims langjaehrice praesidentin des Frauenvereins des Deutschen Altenheims

Wer den Besien seme Zeit genug gelhan, Der hat gelebt fuer alle Zeiten.
Gest 3 Maerz 1902

[English translation:]
In memory of
Maria Werkmeister Founder of the Altenheim (Old People's Home), president of the Women's Association of the German Altenheim (Old People's Home) for many years

Anyone who has paid the beasts enough during this time has lived for all time.
Died March 3, 1902

Erected 1902.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Immigration • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1902.

Location. 41° 52.624′ N, 87° 49.22′ W. Marker is in Forest Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It can be reached from Van Buren Street 0.2 miles south of Madison Street, on the right when traveling south. The relief is on the wall above and to the left of the canopied entrance to the Arborwood building on the campus of Altenheim, a senior citizen's facility. Touch for map. Marker is at or near

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this postal address: 7822 Van Buren Street, Forest Park IL 60130, 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: Anton C. Hesing (here, next to this marker); Fred and Roberta Marunde (within shouting distance of this marker); River Forest, Illinois (approx. 0.4 miles away); Joseph Carter Corbin (approx. 0.4 miles away); World War Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Waldheim (approx. half a mile away); Haymarket Martyrs' Monument (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Forest Park.

More about this marker. The plaque includes an image of Werkmeister with her left

Arborwood entrance at Altenheim image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 22, 2024

2. Arborwood entrance at Altenheim

The square relief to Maria Werkmeister is above and to the left of the canopy entrance into the Arborwood; the Anton Hesing relief is on the right. The Arborwood was the original building on the Altenheim campus, built in 1885.

arm on the shoulder of an old woman, and an old man standing to her right. The plaque is one of two reliefs over the entrance canopy to the Arborwood building at Altenheim dedicated to the facility's two founding leaders; to the right of this one to Werkmeister is one for Anton Hesing, a prominent Chicago newspaper publisher who led the corresponding German men's group that helped erect this facility for German-American senior citizens. The Arborwood is the original building at Altenheim, which is the German word for "old people's home."

A 2020 report on the building (see link 1) offers some information on the current status of Altenheim. Three of the eight buildings on campus remain in use as nonprofit-owned home for senior citizens; the five remaining buildings, all owned by the village and covering about 11 of 14 total acres of land, were closed around 2000 and have not been maintained since then. While the report indicated that they are slated for demolition due to their poor state and lack of historical status, they were still standing when visited in June 2024.

Regarding Maria Werkmeister. Maria Fisher Werkmeister founded

"Tritt Ein, Friede Harret Dein" image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 22, 2024

3. "Tritt Ein, Friede Harret Dein"

The circa-1914 dormitory (now the Briarwood building), to the immediate east of the Arborwood building, is inscribed with a German phrase that translates to "Come in, may peace await you."

the German Ladies' Society, which sought to establish a facility for older Germans. With help from a corresponding men's board, in the 1880s a 20-acre plot of prairie was acquired near Madison Street in the town of Harlem (a predecessor to Forest Park) about 10 miles west of downtown Chicago. On June 14, 1886, the building was opened with a keynote speech by Illinois Governor Richard Oglesby.

According to her obituary in the Chicago Tribune, Maria Fisher Werkmeister was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1844 and came to the United States in 1865. She married Martin Werkmeister in 1866, and the two came to Chicago two years later. She died suddenly in 1902 and was buried in the German Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, which is now part of Forest Home Cemetery, about a ½-mile south of here as the crow flies (but about twice that by car). At the time of her death, she lived on 3329 Vernon Avenue, on Chicago's south side.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 7, 2024. It was originally submitted on June 25, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 223 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 25, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.