Patricia Reaves

This presentation is a journey through the early settlement of the Township of Proviso and its surrounding areas — including parts of Riverside. As members of the Save the Prairie Society (STPS) researched how to properly restore and interpret an 1850s Lutheran German school and teacher’s quarters (located at the old farmhouse on Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester), they accumulated a lot of knowledge about 19th Century settlement in and around Wolf Road Prairie: the immigrants who settled the area, the Native Americans who resided not far from there, the impact of transportation and the I&M Canal, the property ownerships, the histories of the early settlers who came from established towns to the wilderness and sparsely populated land east of Chicago. This presentation relates the history of some familiar areas in your immediate neighborhood, and the stories of those people who frequented the places where you live today.

Registration Required Link

Bio:

Patricia Reaves has a life-long interest in the daily lives of people of the past and the language they spoke. As the director, historian and tour guide for Save the Prairie Society on Wolf Road Prairie and its affiliate Franzosenbusch Heritage Project, Patricia has been involved in the preservation and restoration of an 1850s German school room and teacherage within the Prairie House on the north end of Wolf Road Prairie. This effort led her to understanding key historic events and trends that influenced the way of life locally. As a speaker for genealogical organizations, societies, and libraries, Patricia has learned to appreciate the interest of researching the daily life of early settlers who created the communities that we live in today.

Patricia recently retired from her positions as German teacher, English as a Second Language Coordinator, U.S. History and U.S. Government teacher at Riverside|Brookfield High School, where she taught for twenty-five years.