Tracing your neighborhood's history may be the easiest and most rewarding of your searches. Many neighborhoods have formal or informal historical societies, such as the Ridge Historical Society, which covers Beverly Hills, Morgan Park and some parts of Washington Heights.

Check with your Chamber of Commerce, Municipal Clerk, Mayors Office, or Local Public Library to begin seeking out your local historical society. There are also directories of societies published online, and many come up within simple internet searches.

Try Searching for: "<local town name>, "historical society"

This section is republished with permission, slightly modified from a Chicago Focus to reference general links and resources for identifying and tracing the history of your home!

Special Thanks to: The Ridge Historical Society of Chicago, IL

The Ridge Historical Society website is a free resource for students, historians and anyone interested in the area history. But in order to keep it going, please consider giving back, whether as an individual or an organization, through one of the following means, according to your financial ability.

To donate or become a member click here.