The Heritage Room houses a unique local history collection. The major focus of the room is Park Ridge history. The collection includes:
City Directories: 1922-1923, 1930-1931, 1948, 1949
Phone Books: 1923, 1929-1931, 1933 to present (Missing: 1954, 1956, 1959, and 1966)
Yearbooks from Maine Township High Schools
(including the yearbooks of Hillary Clinton and Harrison Ford):
Maine Township High School: 1913-1914, 1915, 1919
Maine East (Lens): 1937-1942, 1944-1949, 1951, 1954-1960, 1962-1967, 1969-Current
Maine West (Legend): 1964-Current
Maine South (Eyrie): 1965-1970, 1972-Current
Maine North (Saga) 1971-1981
Maine Township High Schools Alumni Directories:
Maine East and Maine North: 1995, 2005
Maine West: 1995
Maine South: 1995, 2005
Microfilm of the Park Ridge newspapers:
Herald 1889-1923(misc.) 1929-1986
Times Herald 1987-1995
Advocate 1942-1995
Herald-Advocate 1995-Present
Through the Library’s website, you can also look at the Park Ridge Herald Obituaries Index, which lists the dates and page numbers of obituaries from one of the local papers chronologically from 1929-1968, and 1973-1989. The actual obituaries are on microfilm in the Library.
Park Ridge History
The Heritage Room also houses a collection of newspaper clippings about local people and events. Books on neighboring communities, Illinois history, and the Columbian Exposition complete the collection. Please call in advance to make sure the item is available.