LOGAN SQUARE — For #TBT, check out one of Logan Square's earliest settlers, Martin Nelson Kimbell.
The old photo, taken in 1880, shows Kimbell leaning up against the fence post at his home in the 2500 block of North Kimball Avenue.
Here's what Logan Square Preservation has to say about the photo:
Martin Nelson Kimbell leans against the fence post at the front of his home on the 2500 block of north Kimball, circa 1880. Kimbell was one of the first settlers of the area we now know as Logan Square. His wife, Sarah Smalley, may be the woman behind the fence to Kimbell's right.
Kimbell’s home was on the west side of Kimball (named for him) just north of Altgeld. When he moved to the area he was one of a very few settlers and it was not unusual for Kimbell to fend off wolves from his farm.
Fun fact: Kimball Avenue was named after the settler and therefore supposed to be Kimbell. With an "e."
But when Chicago annexed the land in 1889, existing streets were relabeled and what had been Kimbell was mistakenly entered into the record as Kimball, according to the Chicago History Museum's database of the city's streets.
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.
