Plumbing in Norwood Park, IL

The first inhabitant of European descent in the area was Mark Noble, who arrived in 1833 and constructed a house that is still standing as of 2024, the oldest in the Chicago city limits. English farmers were the main group in the 1830s, although they would later be supplanted by Germans and to a lesser extent Poles and Scandinavians. In 1853 the Illinois and Wisconsin Railroad, which would eventually become the Chicago and North Western Railway and is currently Metra’s Union Pacific / Northwest Line, laid tracks in the area, and in 1868 the Norwood Land and Building Association was formed and purchased the land. A hotel was constructed shortly thereafter in an attempt to lure tourists from Chicago, although it was ultimately unsuccessful. The first Post Office and store were built respectively in 1870 and 1871.

Upon its incorporation the Village of Norwood Park prohibited the sale of alcohol. As of April 2014 there were still eight dry precincts in the community area. The first liquor store in the area in 50 years opened in 2016, without controversy about its existence but with such restrictions on its operation as early closing hours and a price minimum of $5.99.

During the 1920s such roads as Foster Avenue, Milwaukee Avenue, Devon Avenue, Northwest Highway, and Harlem Avenue were improved, further facilitating transportation between Norwood Park and its surroundings. The fieldhouse of the eponymous Norwood Park was built in 1928. Between 1930 and 1940 the area added approximately 2,000 residents despite the Great Depression. The Kennedy Expressway was constructed nearby in the 1950s although the historic buildings of Old Norwood were unaffected. The Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce was incorporated on May 20, 1977. The City of Chicago recognized the Norwood Park Historical District in 1986 and declared the Noble-Seymour-Crippen House a Chicago Landmark on May 11, 1988. The Noble-Seymour-Crippen House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 11, 2000.