In 1850, a township called Ridgeville was organized, extending from Graceland Cemetery in Chicago to the southern edge of the Ouilmette Reservation, along what is now Central Street, and from Lake Michigan to Western Avenue in Chicago. Grosse Pointe itself steadily eroded into the lake during this period. The area remained only sparsely settled, supporting some farming and lumber activity on some of the higher ground, as well as a number of taverns or 'hotels' along the ridge roads. After the first non-Native Americans settled in the area in 1836, the names 'Grosse Point Territory' and 'Gross Point voting district' were used through the 1830s and 1840s, although the territory had no defined boundaries. However, Potawatomi Native Americans used trails along higher lying ridges that ran in a general north–south direction through the area, and had at least some semi-permanent settlements along the trails.įrench explorers referred to the general area as 'Grosse Pointe' after a point of land jutting into Lake Michigan about 13 miles (21 km) north of the mouth of the Chicago River. Prior to the 1830s, the area now occupied by Evanston was mainly uninhabited, consisting largely of wetlands and swampy forest.

History Downtown Evanston as seen in October 2005 The city and the university share a historically complex long-standing relationship. Today known for its ethnically diverse population, Evanston is heavily shaped by the influence of Chicago, externally, and Northwestern, internally. Evanston is home to Northwestern University, founded in 1851 before the city's incorporation, one of the world's leading research universities. įounded by Methodist business leaders in 1857, the city was incorporated in 1863. Evanston had a population of 78,110 as of 2020. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is 12 miles (19 km) north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wilmette to the north, and Lake Michigan to the east.

Evanston ( / ˈ ɛ v ən s t ən/ EV-ən-stən) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan.

Alpha blocks lakeshore