Pray for Greater Grand Crossing

Greater Grand Crossing was annexed to Chicago in 1889, and encompasses several neighborhoods. Development in this area began after a train accident in 1853 that killed eighteen people. Early settlers were of Irish, English, and Scottish backgrounds. Many German immigrants came into the area during the 1890s.

The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 further stimulated population growth, and many single-family homes and apartments appeared during this time. The infrastructure of railways was improved as well. During the 1930s, African Americans came into the community, while white and other ethnic groups began to move out.

During the 1950s the black population increased dramatically from six percent to eighty-six percent of the population such that, since 1980, the community’s demographic has been almost ninety-nine percent African American. There has been little construction in Greater Grand Crossing since the 1960s and as of 1990 a fifth of the population lived at or below poverty level. However, about a third of the residents were second- and third-generation property owners.