Douglas (Bronzeville) in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

William J. Otterson

1885-1919

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025

1. William J. Otterson Marker

Inscription.
I am searching

I am Eugene Williams

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Disasters. In addition, it is included in the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project, Illinois series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 28, 1919.

Location. 41° 49.87′ N, 87° 37.563′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Douglas (Bronzeville). It is on East 35th Street east of South State Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is just west of the entrance to the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT station on the CTA Green Line elevated train. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60616, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is 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: John Walter Humphrey (here, next to this marker); Edward Lee (here, next to this marker); Hymes Taylor (here, next to this marker); Chicago Race Riot of 1919 (here, next to this marker); Joseph Sanford (here, next to this marker); Welcome to Bronzeville (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Welcome to Bronzeville (within shouting distance of this marker); State Street (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker.

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The sidewalk marker is one of 19 erected (including five at this location near 35th and State) by the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project in remembrance of those killed during the deadly racial violence that gripped Chicago in the summer of 1919. Inspired by the Stolpersteine ("Stumbling Stones") project in Europe, which erects sidewalk markers honoring Holocaust victims, these markers in Chicago have been placed on sidewalks at sites where people were killed in 1919.

Regarding William J. Otterson. On July 27, 1919, Eugene Williams, a Black 17-year-old, was riding in a homemade raft with four friends in Lake Michigan when it accidentally floated past the invisible boundary that demarcated what was a de-facto "whites-only" part of the beach. A white man, George Stauber, threw stones at the boys and killed Williams. The scene set off a wave of protests followed by a week of racially driven violence. Between July 27 and Aug. 3, 38 people died (23 were Black and 15 white), more than were 500 injured, and more than 1,000 people, most of them Black, had their homes destroyed.

A day after Williams's death, on July 28, rumor spread that a white tenant of the Angelus, an all-white apartment building that stood not far from this location, had shot a Black child. A crowd of several hundred Black protesters converged at the Angelus,

Five markers honoring the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025

2. Five markers honoring the Chicago Race Riot of 1919

Five markers lead up to the CTA Green Line "L" stop at 35th-Bronzeville-IIT.

drawing more than 100 policemen to the scene. After they searched the building and found no one, a policeman was hit by a brick from a protester. Chaos ensued as police and protesters fought and traded gunfire.

William Otterson, an Irishman who was native of Isle of Man, came to the United States in 1904 and worked in Chicago as a plasterer. On the evening of July 28, he was a passenger in a car that was passing the Angelus at the time of the riot. As the car turned onto S. Wabash Ave. (which no longer exists at this spot) to avoid the melee, a brick thrown by a protester at the car hit Otterson and fractured his skull, killing him. He was 34.

Also see . . . Commemorating the Killed: William Otterson. (Submitted on November 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Hymes Taylor Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 14, 2025

3. Hymes Taylor Marker

This marker is the next-to-last one before the sidewalk.

Black men crowd at 35th and State image. Click for full size.

Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum, circa 1919

4. Black men crowd at 35th and State

This photo was taken very close to where this sidewalk marker is now located on 35th. The caption from the Chicago History Museum: "Crowd of African-American men standing on the sidewalks in front of a Walgreen Drugs at 3501 South State Street during a race riot in Chicago, Illinois, 1919. Police officers are standing at the forefront of the crowd."

Credits. This page was last revised on November 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 45 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2, 3. submitted on November 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4. submitted on November 18, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.