What is now called the Childerley Park, a 12.7 acre land on 506 McHenry Road in Wheeling, once housed a family vital to the establishment and sense of community for the area.
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Exploring the history of chiderley
January 2023 | By Shannan
What is now called the Childerley Park, a 12.7 acre land on 506 McHenry Road in Wheeling, once housed a family vital to the establishment and sense of community for the area.
The family that owned this land was Dr. Francis R. Lillie and his wife, Frances Crane Lillie. The land was primarily used for cattle raising, but also included an apple and cherry orchard, school and church. The school was run by Frances’ friend Elsabeth (or Elisabeth depending on the records) Port and Elsabeth’s mother starting in 1917.
The funding came from Crane Company after the passing of Richard Crane, who was the father of Frances Lillie. For the school there was “preference given to widows and families of Crane Co employees,” but all people in need from the community were welcome. At most they had 86 children at the school. The school included cottages for the families, a barn, an infirmary and a pool.
A statue at Childerley was created in memory of Elsabeth Port and her mother. Photo shown […] was taken by Celeste Kuta, former Genealogy Librarian. For more first hand accounts of the school and photographs from the time, check out Wheeling Through The Years and the WHS webpage on Childerley.
The church was called Childerley Chapel and still resides on 401 McHenry Rd today. It was built in 1825 as a log cabin and was originally used as a pig pen. The building is considered to be “one of the oldest buildings in Cook County.” The chapel was moved in 1910 to its current location. Left photo, taken by Celeste Kuta, shows stained glass found inside the chapel.
Frances Lillie eventually donated the Childerly land to the Calvert Foundation at the University of Chicago. The chapel was then used by students from the school for worship. In 1977 Wheeling Park District and WHS bought the land through a bond referendum, which is a voting process that authorizes the raising of funds for a specific purpose. In this case the funds were used to buy and then maintain the land as well as the church. The Park District redeveloped the area around 1990 to what we see today.
The original Childerley Chapel still exists on the land, as the Loraine E. Lark Chapel. Lorraine E. Lark was a former Commissioner, who served on the board for 13 years. The chapel was dedicated after her death in 1980. Information was accessed from the WHS website, Village of Wheeling History page, Wheeling Park District Childerley Park page, and the Wheeling Through The Years book.
A village with my name: a family history of china’s opening to the world
By Scott Tong
A Village with My Name offers a unique perspective on the transitions in China through the eyes of regular people who have witnessed such epochal events as the toppling of the Qing monarchy, Japan’s occupation during World War II, exile of political prisoners to forced labor camps, mass death and famine during the Great Leap Forward, market reforms under Deng Xiaoping, and the dawn of the One Child Policy.
Tong’s story focuses on five members of his family, who each offer a specific window on a changing country. Through their stories, Tong shows us China anew, visiting former prison labor camps on the Tibetan plateau and rural outposts along the Yangtze, exploring the Shanghai of the 1930s, and touring factories across the mainland.
With curiosity and sensitivity, Tong explores the moments that have shaped China and its people, offering a compelling and deeply personal take on how China became what it is today.” — Amazon description.