1810Architecture
The house was built by Carlton Wadhams (1810–1891), who came to Blue Island in 1839 from Goshen, Connecticut, and farmed on land north of the village until he opened the America...
1834History
The Chicago Democrat, February, 1834 described it:
"Nearly south of this town and twelve miles [19 km] distant is Blue Island.
1836Government
Norman Rexford became the community's first permanent resident when he established the "Blue Island House" at the southern edge of the ridge in November 1836, where in 1838 he b...
1839Infrastructure
They used their influence to have the local post office name changed from Blue Island to Portland (a circumstance that as time went by would be a source of aggravation to the pe...
1843Culture
Approved February 24, 1843." At the same time, the post office department in Washington, D.C.
1844Architecture
In 1844, the building was disassembled, sent by raft up the Little Calumet River, and reassembled in Blue Island.
1845Culture
=== Public library ===
A lending library has been in existence in some form or another in Blue Island since about 1845, when Thomas McClintock began to make his private library...
1850History
By 1850, half of Blue Island's population was either foreign-born or the children of foreign-born residents.
1852Infrastructure
The Rock Island Railroad inaugurated service to the community in 1852.
1854Culture
The founding of the library as a publicly supported institution dates to 1854, when the library's collection, which at this time numbered around 800 volumes, was housed in the n...
1857History
1857 when he sold his holdings and moved to South Bend, Indiana.
1860History
On January 10, 1860, the post office name reverted again to "Blue Island".
1862Infrastructure
According to John Volp, whose family had lived in Blue Island since 1862:
"'Portland' did not become a river town.
1867Government
He was one of the incorporators, a director and secretary of the Chicago, Blue Island and Indiana Railroad Company (now part of the Grand Trunk Railway), whose charter was appro...
1868History
Beck for the purpose in 1868.
1870Education
This arrangement lasted until 1870, when the new campus for the college was completed in what is now the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago on 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land that w...
1872Government
On October 26, 1872, Blue Island incorporated as a village using the name by which it has always been known.
1874Culture
Young House ====
An ad appeared in the book Chicago and Its Suburbs, which was published in 1874 in part to promote the interests of real estate developers in the Chicago area.
1878History
He served from 1878–1880 as the president of the village board, and was a founder of the Congregational church (now Christ Memorial United Church of Christ).
1883Infrastructure
Beginning in 1883, Blue Island was also host to the car shops of the Rock Island Railroad.
1886Architecture
In 1886, the Chicago architectural firm of Adler and Sullivan designed a large complex for the Wahl Brothers brickyard (the main building of which was 250 by 350 feet (76 by 107...
1887Government
The public school district as a legal entity (now Cook County School District 130) was established in 1887, and the current high school district (Community High School District ...
1888Military
The branch line was built in 1888 as a result of efforts by the Blue Island Land and Building Company to promote its interests in what was to become the town, and eventually, th...
1891Architecture
The oldest section of Blue Island's city hall, built in 1891, was designed by Edmund R.
1895History
1895, extant, also now a city landmark) for Albert and Emma Schmidt at 312 (now 13022) Western Avenue.
1896Disaster
Except for what was in the hands of patrons, this library's collection was destroyed by the Great Blue Island Fire of 1896.
1898History
Although the cemetery was added to and improved in subsequent years, it was closed by village ordinance in 1898, and almost all of the remains interred there were moved to Mt.
1899Education
Eisenhower High School) was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (now North Central Association – Commission on Accreditation and School...
1900Architecture
By 1900, the Clifton Brickyard alone—which had opened in 1883 under the name of Purington at the far northeast corner of the village—was producing 150,000,000 bricks a year.
1903Government
In the 1903 edition of Blue Book for the State of Illinois, the state shows 1843 as the year Blue Island was granted "incorporation under special acts", recognizing the existenc...
1905Government
The hospital was founded as Saint Francis Hospital in 1905 by the Sisters of St.
1911Government
=== Television and film ===
This layout is from a 1911 Sanborn map Founded in 1856 as the Busch and Brandt brewery and consolidated with United Breweries in 1898, this was one ...
1913Culture
The opera house was host to vaudeville and repertoire shows until 1913, when it became the Grand Theater and a venue for motion pictures.
1914Architecture
The Blue Island Post Office was designed by Oscar Wenderoth and built in 1914.
1916Education
In 1916, there were 250 pupils at Seymour School who were following the high school curriculum.
1919History
Blue Island was home to several breweries, who used the east side of the hill to store their product before the advent of refrigeration, until the Eighteenth Amendment made thes...
1922History
Memorial Park, the city's next public park, was dedicated on Decoration Day (now Memorial Day), 1922, in ceremonies that were presided over by Brigadier General Abel Davis of Gl...
1923Economy
It was performed in 1923 by Hall with The Virginians on the Victor Talking Machine Company (now RCA Records) record label and again in 1929 by Tiny Parham.
1925Government
An annex to city hall was built in 1925 according to plans by the Chicago architectural firm of Doerr, Lindquist and Doerr.
1927Government
In August 1927, the Blue Island Community High School District 218 was established.
1935Architecture
These buildings had been demolished by 1935, and all of Blue Island's brickyards were re-purposed by the latter part of the mid-20th century.
1939History
Aaron Heimbach House (1939).
1944History
==== USS Blue Island Victory ====
On December 28, 1944, 91 days after her keel was laid, the USS Blue Island Victory was launched from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltim...
1948History
It was demolished in 1948 to allow room for the next addition.
1950Military
However, several local businesses have served the area for generations: DeMar's Restaurant, for example, opened its doors in 1950; Jebens Hardware was established in 1876; and K...
1951Education
As president of Columbia University, Eisenhower was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the new facility on Sacramento Avenue for Blue Island Community High School in 1951,...
1954Education
There are no active private high schools in the Blue Island community, although the Mother of Sorrows High School for Girls operated from 1954 through 1983.
1965History
It was vacated by the park district in 1965 when St.
1967History
The keynote speaker for the dedication of Blue Cap in October 1967 was then-Senator Charles H.
1969Architecture
This building was demolished in 1969 when the current library, which opened housing the library's collection of over 70,000 volumes, was built.
1972History
It was scrapped in 1972.
1980Civil Rights
== Notable people ==
Marcheline Bertrand, actress, mother of Angelina Jolie, born in Blue Island
Gary Bettenhausen, 1980 & 1983 USAC Silver Crown Series Champion, was born in Bl...
1987History
Because of its picturesque nature, Blue Island has been used for location shots in several movies and television series:
Scenes from the 1987 film Light of Day, starring Michae...
1990Military
The long narrow building marked "Stable in Bst" was afterwards owned by the Klein Elevator Co., who used it until c.1990, at which time it was demolished.
1994Architecture
Porter Gibson and opened in 1994.
2000History
An instrumental version is currently available on the CD by George Shearing and Brian Torff entitled Lullaby of Birdland: Blues Alley Jazz/On a Clear Day which was released by C...
2006History
Scenes from the 2006 Paramount Pictures film Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, were filmed in Blue Island.
2008History
Mary relinquished ownership of the facility to MetroSouth Medical Center on July 30, 2008.
2009History
In 2009, its owners received the Richard H.
2010Culture
On October 21, 2010, leaves were plucked from trees and artificial snow fell as New Line Cinema prepared to film exterior shots for the film The Rite.
2015Culture
Monroe Street (the theater, whose interiors were designed by Rapp and Rapp, has been renamed several time in the last fifty years – most recently in 2015 when it became the Priv...
2019History
Citing "low patient volume" the hospital was closed in 2019.
2020History
=== Surrounding areas ===
== Demographics ==
As of the 2020 census there were 22,558 people, 7,926 households, and 5,457 families residing in the city.
2025Education
(equivalent to $3,320,000 in 2025) to build its east campus there.