LOGAN SQUARE — For #ThrowbackThursday, check out the original Martin Kimbell farmhouse that once stood at Kimball and Altgeld avenues.
The old photograph shows Kimbell's historic home on the western side of Kimball circa the 1890s. The Kimbell family developed much of the neighborhood surrounding their home, specifically stretches of the west side of Kimball and Bernard Street.
Here's what Logan Square Preservation has to say about the photo:
The farmhouse was demolished in the early 1900s as the Kimbell children developed the land on the family farm, which once encompassed 160 acres between Kimball, Central Park, Wrightwood and Fullerton. Martin Kimbell was one of the earliest settlers in the area, first arriving in 1836. He grew hay on the farm for consumption by horses in Chicago but besides farming also organized the first local school, served on the board of the first government (Jefferson Township) and even had a contract to build several miles of the Northwest Plank Road, today known as Milwaukee Avenue. Kimbell recalled the early days in the area as lonely and dangerous — he was once driven into his barn by a wolf.
The family later constructed several large houses on Kimball (which was named for them, but misspelled, an error uncorrected to this day) and developed housing there and on Bernard Street which was originally known as Smalley Court, named for Martin Kimbell’s wife, Sarah Smalley.
RELATED: Kimball Avenue Has Been Misspelled For More Than 100 Years. It's Kimbell.
DNAinfo is partnering with Logan Square Preservation on a "Throwback Thursday" post each week. All photos are the property of Logan Square Preservation unless otherwise indicated.
For more photos and information, visit Logansquarepreservation.org or Facebook.com/logansquarepreservation.
