La Grange and La Grange Park, Illinois

La Grange was incorporated in 1879, and La Grange Park in 1892. Both areas were farmland before being developed as residential communities. Today, a large section of La Grange is a National Register Historic District, and this area is dominated by large Victorian and early-twentieth-century homes. In fact, the most striking feature of La Grange and La Grange Park is the well-preserved state of their vintage housing. Both villages have maintained a small-town look and feel that has attracted many families to the area. During World War I, the Marx Brothers, in order to avoid military service, bought a farm just south of the La Grange village limits. A biography of Groucho includes some humorous recollections of life on that farm. La Grange is also lucky enough to be home to three Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Outside of these well-known attributes of La Grange and La Grange Park, the authors also explore the history of the early settlers of the area and show how the residents lived, worked, played, worshiped, and attended school in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Through the use of over 200 vintage photographs from the La Grange Area Historical Society, individual residents, and community organizations, RoseAnna and Robert Mueller offer a glimpse of La Grange's old-fashioned streets that have made La Grange a popular setting for local television commercials and even the odd Hollywood film. Read more