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West Side Historical Society Records

 Collection
Identifier: spe-nhrc-wshs

Scope and Contents

The West Side Historical Society Records include the organization’s annual meeting proceedings, by-laws, constitution, collection development policy, correspondence, meeting minutes, programming, publicity, research indexes and transcripts from a weekly radio quiz show featuring questions about Chicago’s West Side. The group’s activities included historic research, presentations, radio quizzes, school competitions and tours. The materials span the 1930s through the mid-1950s.

Dates

  • 1930 - 1955

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection.

Biographical / Historical

The West Side Historical Society (WSHS) was founded sometime around 1929 or 1930 as recorded by Miss Pearl L. Field, librarian at the Chicago Public Library, Legler Branch and Honorary Life President of WSHS. The mission of WSHS was to discover the West Side’s pioneer families, neighborhood settlement boundaries and the other histories of the community area.

The WSHS was associated with Chicago Public Library, Legler Branch for almost twenty-five years. From this location, the group held meetings, mounted exhibits and the stored historic materials that were jointed cared managed with library staff.

The West Side Historical Society disbanded sometime in the late 1950s.

Extent

7.75 Linear Feet (in 23 boxes including 21 photographs, 1 audiotape)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The West Side Historical Society worked with staff at Legler Regional Library to collect information about Chicago's West Side. The collection includes the organization’s annual meeting proceedings, by-laws, constitution, collection development policy, correspondence, meeting minutes, photographs, programming, publicity, research indexes and transcripts from a weekly radio quiz show featuring questions about Chicago’s West Side.

Arrangement

The West Side Historical Society Records are arranged into series: Series 1: Administrative Files, 1930-1954 and Series 2: Photographs, 1931-1952, undated.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from Chicago Public Library, Legler Branch in the 1980s as part of a grant from the Dr. Scholl Foundation.

Supplement 1 contains additional materials from the West Side Historical Society. The administrative files were retained in Box 8, Folders 18-39. Historical neighborhood materials collected by WSHS were added to the Neighborhood History Research Collection that corresponded with its community area.

Supplement 2 contains 13 boxes of index card files that were maintained by the West Side Historical Society.

Additional contents were added in 2018.

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Title
Guide to the West Side Historical Society Records
Status
Completed
Author
Original author unknown, 1989 February. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Michelle McCoy, 2021
Date
1989
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Unit at Harold Washington Library Center Repository

Contact:
Harold Washington Library Center, 9th Floor
Chicago Public Library
400 S. State Street
Chicago IL 60605 United States
(312) 747-4875