From the "Village of Westchester -- 1925-1975 -- Golden Jubilee", 1976.

A Bit of Westchester History

(Fifth in a series)

By 1928 the population of Westchester had grown to one hundred fifty residents.  Because there were no schools in the young village the children of Westchester attended schools in nearby towns.  Children living south of Roosevelt Road attended a school in Broadview near the intersection of Cermak Road and 17th Avenue.  Those living north of Roosevelt Road attended a portable school on Madison Street in Bellwood.  The children were driven to school in taxi cabs from the Maywood Cab Company.

Residents of Westchester presented a petition to the Proviso Township Trustees.  On December 4, 1928, the Trustees took parts of District 88 (Bellwood) to form School District 92 1/2 of Proviso Township, Westchester's own school district.  The election of the first school board was to be held on January 5, 1929.  Forty two unanimous votes declared Grant N. Britten to be the first president of the school board (Mr. Britten was also the president of the Village at the time).  He called the first meeting of the Westchester School Board to order on January 14, 1929. The board held its first regular meeting in April of that same year.

On August 12, the Board hired Westchester's first two teachers, Miss Nancy LaMarr and Miss Mary Reese.  They were to teach classes in residences at 1623 Newcastle Avenue and 742 Newcastle, as both taught all grades to about  15 students in each school.

Click HERE to continue to part 6 of this series

Last Modified:  03/26/2005