HISTORY
TIMELINE
- 1843
- August Hildebrandt family become the first settlers
- 1846
- Henry, George, and John Lansing settle in the area
- pre-1850
- The Pennsylvania Railroad tracks are laid and a station built
- 1850
The Union Hotel is built on the southwest corner of Ridge Road and
what is now Wentworth Avenue
- 1865
- Henry Lansing is named postmaster and John Lansing
plats the town
- 1893
- Lansing is incorporated
- 1911
- The first telephone cables are strung
- 1912
- Electricity arrives
- 1915
- Ridge Road is paved in concrete
- 1924
- The Lansing Municipal Airport is built
- 1926
- The first sewage system is completed
- 1927
- Natural gas arrives
- 1930
- The population reaches 3,387
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The Lansing area
was a part
of the Northwest Territory
in the late 1700s.
It was
transferred to the
Illinois Territory in 1809.
In 1818 Illinois became the
21st state of the Union.
As migration west began,
settlers, primarily
German and Dutch immigrants, came to the Lansing area to build homes,
farms, and businesses.
The Pennsylvania Railroad came
through Lansing in 1856 and since Lansing is located on a sand
ridge, the railroad began hauling sand to Chicago for use in building
construction.
The location of the sand pit of years ago is now Lansing's downtown
business district. In 1860 there was no industry, just the railroad and
farms. Lansing had a grocery store, saloon, shoemaker and two
blacksmiths.
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LOCATION
/ TRAVEL
Only 30 minutes from
Chicago's loop,
the Village of Lansing is well served by regional and
national transportation at the crossroads of the busiest Interstates in
the United States - I80, I94 & I294.
Commuters
can travel by South Shore commuter trains in nearby Hegewisch or by Metra
trains in Homewood to Chicago, or by PACE buses.
O'Hare
International airlines is about an hours drive to the northwest, and
Midway Airport is about 30 minutes away.
Private
and charter air transportation is available at Lansing's own Municipal
Airport.
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EDUCATION
The Lansing
Public Library serves
as a cultural center within the community. The mission of the
Lansing Public Library is to provide access to informational, educational,
cultural and recreational library materials and services in a variety of
formats and technologies; to be responsive to the public library needs of
the community and to uphold the public's freedom of access to information.
The building also houses the
Lansing Historical Society Museum.
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2005
school report cards for all state schools |
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Each
year, the State Board of Education releases school report cards for
each public school in the state. The 2005 report cards include
student scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement and Prairie
State Achievement tests, and ACTs, demographic information on
students and teachers, and financial information on school
districts. The state does not release report cards for private and
parochial schools.
click
here for information |
Lansing Elementary School
District #158 has three K-5 buildings
and one junior high for grades 6-8. District enrollment is over
1900.
Sunnybrook
School District #171 has one K-5 building and a middle school for grades
6-8. Over 1350 students are enrolled in the district.
District schools
are:
Thornton
Fractional South High School
provides quality education as a part of High School District #215.
Over
1500 students attend T. F. South and over 75% go on to higher education
upon graduation.
Private
and parochial educational opportunities can be found at the
following schools:
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The village is
served by two elementary school districts,
one high school district,
and
several private
and parochial school systems.
Our first public school was a
white frame structure at Ridge Road and Indiana Avenue with
40 students in attendance.
This was replaced in 1893 by
a two story brick building,
Indiana School.
From 1920 to 1924, Lansing students attended high school in this building
until the started attending Thornton Fractional (T.F.) in 1924.
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RECREATION
Outdoors
or in, Lansing offers family fun for everyone.
From
the Cook County Forest Preserves on the south and southwest sides to the
more than 125 acres of park lands, opportunities for outdoor recreation
abound.
The
Lan-Oak Park District maintains
20 well equipped parks located throughout the community.
Lan-Oak Pool is
located at Bock Park just south of the expressway on Chicago Avenue.
Year-round
indoor recreation is available at the Park District's Eisenhower Fitness
Center.
Local
festivals provide more opportunities for entertainment.
The summer season
begins with the annual Good Neighbor Day Parade, sponsored by the Lansing
Chamber of Commerce.
Midsummer brings the Grande Ole Fourth of July
celebration and the Sidewalk Sale Festival.
Closing the summer season is
the annual Hometown Fest.
The
Lansing
Old Timers provides the
following sports leagues:
At
the Lansing
Country Club, a private
18 hole golf course with fishing lakes provides further opportunities for
outdoor activities.
On
a quieter note, the Lansing
Public Library serves
as a cultural center within the community. The mission of the
Lansing Public Library is to provide access to informational,
educational, cultural and recreational library materials and services in
a variety of formats and technologies; to be responsive to the public
library needs of the community and to uphold the public's freedom of
access to information.
The building also houses the
Lansing Historical Society Museum.
The Chicago
Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau was founded over 15 years
ago as a subsidiary of the Regional Economic Development Corporation
(now known as the Chicago Southland Development, Inc.). In 1993, the
Bureau separated from its parent organization and became an independent
501(c)6 organization. As a regional cooperative, the Chicago Southland
Convention & Visitors Bureau represents 61 south and southwest
municipalities, approximately 35 miles south of downtown Chicago.
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Tri-Motors
in
Plane View
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WORSHIP
LANSING CHURCHES
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Bethel Christian
Reformed Church
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Calvin Reformed
United Church
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| The Episcopal Church
of Christ
the King |
First
Baptist Church |
First Christian
Church of Lansing
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First Church of
Christian Scientist
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First Christian
Reformed Church of Lansing
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| First
United Methodist Church |
Grace
Reformed Church |
Lansing Assembly of
God
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Lansing Bible Church
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Lansing Church
of
Christ
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Lansing Presbyterian
Church
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Living Word Church
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New St. George
Romanian Orthodox Church
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| Trinity Evangelical
Lutheran Church |
St. Ann Roman
Catholic Church
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| St. John's Lutheran
Church |
Our Savior Lutheran
Church
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| Oak
Glen United Reformed Church |
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Lansing is
currently the
home of 21 different churches representing most major
denominations.
Local churches offer not only spiritual support for the
members of the community,
but many activities for all.
The first church and cemetery
in town was the first Reformed Church at the corner of
Ridge Road and Burnham Avenue. The original church was built
in 1860 and legible grave markers in the cemetery today date back to 1871.
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