Hegewisch, Chicago

Hegewisch
Community area
Community Area 55 - Hegewisch
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°39.6′N 87°33.0′W / 41.6600°N 87.5500°WCoordinates: 41°39.6′N 87°33.0′W / 41.6600°N 87.5500°W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	list Arizona Avalon Trails Hegewisch Harbor Point Estates Old Hegewisch
Area
• Total	4.78 sq mi (12.38 km^2)
Population (2010)
• Total	9,426
• Density	2,000/sq mi (760/km^2)
Demographics 2010[1]
• White	44.93% (-37% Change from 2000)
• Black	3.86% (+185% Change from 2000)
• Hispanic	49.55% (+58% Change from 2000)
• Asian	0.51% (+106% Change from 2000)
• Other	1.15%
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes	parts of 60633
Median income	$43,655
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Hegewisch (pronounced /ˈhɛɡˌwɪʃ/ "heg-wish" by the locals. It derives from a German surname pronounced "hege-vish"), one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the city's far south side. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Riverdale and South Deering to the west, the East Side to the north, the village of Burnham to the south and the city of Hammond, Indiana to the east. It is part of the 10th ward of Chicago. Alderman Susan Sadlowski Garza represents Hegewisch after winning a runoff election in 2015. The community area is named for Adolph Hegewisch, the president of U.S. Rolling Stock Company who hoped to establish “an ideal workingman's community” when he laid out the town along a rail line in 1883, six years before Chicago annexed the town.

In the neighborhood

Hegewisch has three distinct areas within the neighborhood: Arizona, Avalon Trails, and Old Hegewisch.

Arizona – referred as such due to the sandy nature of the original soil and presence of the native cactus Opuntia compressa) – lies East of Avenue O and north of 138th St; this area is also sometimes called "the Avenues". Avalon Trails is North of 130th Street, East of Torrence and West of Baltimore Avenue; it is the youngest part of Hegewisch and is built on wetland area where the original settlers of Hegewisch hunted small game and fished. The oldest part of Hegewisch is Old Hegewisch which includes the area North of 138th St, South of 130th St., East of Torrence Avenue, and West of Avenue O.

Parks

• Mann Park
• Wolf Lake Wildlife Refuge
• William W. Powers State Recreation Area
• Powderhorn Prairie Marsh Nature Preserve: The preserve, surrounded by industrial plants and train tracks, holds some of Chicago's rarest animals, including nesting osprey, and hard-to-find flora, including Chicago's last wild cacti, the Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus.

Schools

• Henry Clay Elementary School
• Virgil I. Grissom Elementary School
• Saint Florian Elementary School

Bus and rail transportation

The South Shore Line station in Hegewisch.

Rail Service

The South Shore Line stops at Hegewisch. The train goes as far westbound as Millennium Station in Downtown Chicago and as far eastbound as South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana.

Under the most recent version of CTA Red Line extension plan, the Red Line will stop near Hegewisch, stopping on the edge of Altgeld Gardens housing project.

Bus Service

Hegewisch is served by the following CTA and Pace bus routes:

• #30 South Chicago
• #34 South Michigan (Rush Hour Service)
• #108 - Halsted-95th (School Days)
• #355 Lansing
• #358 Torrence
• #364 159th Street (Rush Hour Service)

Local media

Hegewisch is currently served by Our Neighborhood Times, a bimonthly newspaper headquarters in Hegewisch and widely distributed throughout the neighborhood. Between 1997 and 2012, Hegewish was also served by the South Chicago-based Southeast Chicago Observer. The paper was distributed in Hegewisch, albeit to a lesser extent. Both papers come out on even-numbered weeks.

Notable people

• Edward Vrdolyak, Chicago alderman, lawyer
• Eugene Izzi, Chicago author
• John Pope, Chicago alderman
• Eric Anderson, professional basketball player
• Carmel Bernon Harvey, Jr., Medal of Honor recipient
• Battling Nelson, a/k/a The Durable Dane, born Oskar Matthæus Nielsen, a boxer who held the world lightweight championship on two separate occasions

Industry

• Ford Motor Company's Chicago Assembly Plant is located in Hegewisch, at the northwest quadrant of E. 130th Street and Torrence Avenue.
• KCBX Terminals

Historic population

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	7,890		—
1940	7,509		−4.8%
1950	7,142		−4.9%
1960	8,936		25.1%
1970	11,345		27.0%
1980	11,572		2.0%
1990	10,136		−12.4%
2000	9,781		−3.5%
2010	9,426		−3.6%

Source:^[2]

References

1. Paral, Rob. "Chicago Demographics Data". Retrieved 12 June 2012.
2. "Chicago Community Area Historical Data". Chicago Community Area Historical Data. Retrieved 28 August 2012.

External links

• Official City of Chicago Hegewisch Community Map
• Hegewisch.Net
• City of Chicago Website