Daniel Hale Williams Despite prevailing racial discrimination during the early twentieth century, Daniel Hale Williams, an African American, was a leading Chicago surgeon. In 1891 he founded Provident Hospital as a training hospital for black . . . — — Map (db m182803) HM
Herman & Lela Wilson In 1915 Herman and Lela Wilson came to Yates Township with twenty-five people from Chicago to inspect the real estate that would become the African American resort of Idlewild. The Wilsons promoted and sold property in . . . — — Map (db m182800) HM
Prior to 1964, segregationist policies limited African Americans’ options for where to spend vacation time. In 1915 white developers, Adelbert and Erastus Branch of White Cloud and Wilbur Lemon and Alvin Wright of Chicago, established a summer . . . — — Map (db m182804) HM
In 1920 Idlewild’s founders, Wilbur Lemon, Alvin Wright, and brothers Erastus and Adelbert Branch, joined William Jennings to form the Idlewild Lot Owners Association (ILOA). The ILOA was responsible for public improvements and maintenance of the . . . — — Map (db m182802) HM
Idlewild: A Black Eden
Legalized racial segregation and Jim Crow laws in the United States led to the
growth of Idlewild. In 1912, Idlewild was one of the only places in the nation where blacks could own land and vacation. It quickly became . . . — — Map (db m182990) HM
The Island
The Island, once accessible only by footbridges, was the center of life at Idlewild from the 1910s into the 1960s. Early advertisements for the resort described Island Park as having a beautiful bathing beach and a small "parlor" . . . — — Map (db m182805) HM
