Pray for Ashburn

And let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs . . . – Titus 3:14|Following Ashburn’s annexation to Chicago in 1893, railroads were built in hopes that the community would flourish. However, Ashburn was slow in development, and by 1894, only a few homes and residences were added. Chicago’s first airport, Ashburn Flying Field, was opened in 1916, which became a training camp for Signal Corps during World War I.

By this time, Ashburn’s population had grown to 1,363. The Municipal Airport (now Midway) then opened in 1927 in a neighboring community, and Ashburn Field closed in 1939, later becoming a suburban style mall. Although the population of Ashburn shrank down to 731 during World War II, the automobile and post-WWII baby boom led to rapid growth in the community, with the population peaking at 47,161 in 1970.

The majority of the population was white until a new racially mixed neighborhood, Maycrest, formed. During the 1960s, neighborhoods integrated with the help of Greater Ashburn Planning Association (GAPA), which worked to minimize racial strife over school desegregation. Ashburn has maintained an extremely high homeownership rate, with retirement housing to help families age in the same place.