Chippewa Park

Chippewa Park was one of four parks created by the Ridge Avenue Park District, established in 1896. The Park District's other properties were Indian Boundary, Pottawattomie, and Morse (now Matanky) Parks. In 1931, the Park District began to purchase property for the park and this acquisition continued until 1936.  This property was located in the southwest corner of the District.  The Ridge Avenue Park District built a one-story brick fieldhouse designed by Clarence Hatzfeld, and designated the new park Chippewa.  The park became part of the Chicago Park District’s portfolio in 1934 when the 22 park districts were consolidated. 

The name recognized the Chippewa Indian tribe that lived in the Great Lakes region when Europeans arrived. Between 1600 and 1760, the Chippewas made their home along the northern shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior and numbered between 25,000 and 30,000. The Chippewa formed a loose confederacy with the Ottawa and the Pottawatomi tribes. By the 19th century, the three tribes were known as "the Three Fires." The name Chippewa is an adaption of the word Ojibway, "to roast till puckered up," a reference to the puckered seams of their moccasins.