Maywood in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Poets & Writers
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 19, 2025
1. Poets & Writers Marker
Mary Mitchell Carl Sandburg Tom Burgoyne Zebina Eastman Ervin H. Strub
Erected 2013 by Village of Maywood.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music.
Location. 41° 52.154′ N, 87° 51.775′ W. Marker has been reported damaged. Marker is in Maywood, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 25th Avenue on Lexington Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Maywood IL 60153, 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 2 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: Broadview Bicentennial Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Maywood Peace Garden
this page online
More about this marker. This marker is one of 14 that the Village of Maywood erected in 2013 to accompany "Welcome to Maywood" signs at prominent entry points into this village about 10 miles west of downtown Chicago. In the decade after they were erected, many of them faded, became damaged or went missing. In July 2025, most of the remaining ones appear to have been removed. This one, however, was still standing as of October 2025 at Maywood's western border with Broadview, with the marker's title and a few of the names unreadable.
Regarding Poets & Writers. Mary Mitchell is a former columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times who lives in Maywood.
Carl Sandburg, the famed poet who penned the poem "Chicago," moved to the city in 1912 and rented a house there for
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 19, 2025
2. Poets & Writers Marker beneath the "Welcome to Maywood" sign
Tom Burgoyne was born in DeWitt, Iowa, in 1870 and came to Chicago to attend pharmacy school. He later opened drug stores in Melrose Park and then Maywood, where he lived until his death in 1930. In 1915, Burgoyne suddenly lost his eyesight. Unable to continue operating his drug store, he sold his business. However, he eventually started a newspaper based in Maywood and wrote poetry, some of which was included in a book dedicated to the blind called Chimes of the Times and Other Rhymes.
Zebina Eastman was an abolitionist newspaperman who served under Abraham Lincoln as U.S. consul to Bristol. Eastman was born in Massachusetts and eventually settled in Illinois, where he established himself as an editor and publisher of anti-slavery newspapers. In 1874, Eastman and his wife moved to Maywood, where he had acquired several lots in a newly developed village. Where exactly Eastman's home stood in Maywood is unknown; in 2011, an underground railroad research
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 19, 2025
3. Poets & Writers Marker
The marker is near 25th Avenue's intersection with I-290.
Ervin Strub is known to have lived in Maywood, and to have written some songs and also a book. However, firm details about his career could not be immediately determined.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 19, 2025
4. Poets & Writers Marker
This rear view shows the intersection of 25th and Lexington.
Courtesy of Chicago History Museum (ICHi-022579), circa 1880
5. Zebina Eastman (1815-1883)
Eastman moved to Maywood in 1874 and lived there until his death in 1883.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 19, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 61 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 19, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 20, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
