Rogers (Phillip) Park

Rogers Park was one of many parks created through a ten-year program providing additional recreational space for post-World War II Chicago.  The Chicago Park District began acquiring land for this park in 1946 on North Washtenaw Avenue in the West Ridge community, the park was completed in 1950 when the streets and alleys within the park boundary were vacated creating a 20 plus acre park.  In 1950, the site had four temporary softball diamonds, but no further improvements were made until the mid-1950s.

Rogers Park and the adjacent school honor Phillip Rogers (1812-1856), an Irishman who arrived from New York in 1836. Rogers cleared land north of Chicago and built a cabin atop the natural ridge that gives West Ridge its name. A successful farmer, Rogers eventually purchased over 1,600 acres of property. After his death in 1856, Rogers' land passed into the hands of his son-in-law, Patrick L. Touhy (1839-1911), who joined with others to develop the Rogers Park community in the 1870s.