Editing Westchester, Illinois (section)

==History==
The area now known as Westchester was occupied by [[German American|German]] farmers beginning in the mid-19th century. [[Samuel Insull]] purchased the land in 1924 with plans to develop it for residential use and create an [[England|English]]-style town. As a result, the town's name and the majority of its street names are of English origin.<ref>https://www.westchester-il.org/community/history</ref>

The [[Great Depression]] slowed development during the 1930s, although the population continued to grow. The town's suburban development was stimulated by its being the western terminal of Chicago's [[Garfield Park (Chicago)|Garfield Park]] [[Blue Line (CTA)|rapid transit line]]. The extension of the line was removed in 1951. In 1956, the federal government began postwar construction of the [[Interstate Highway System]], resulting in the construction of nearby expressways [[Interstate 290 (Illinois)|I-290]] and [[Interstate 294|I-294]]. These have provided residents with car-based travel in the region, however they also serve as barriers against access to neighboring communities.

Residential and retail development has consumed nearly all open land within the village, save for the protected {{convert|85|acre|m2|adj=on}} of Wolf Road Prairie.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/ ''Encyclopedia of Chicago'']. Accessed April 23, 2007</ref>  It is the largest black-soil [[prairie]] remnant east of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>[http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2004/IWwolfroad.html "Wolf Road Prairie - Into the Wild"], ''Chicago Wilderness Magazine'', Spring, 2004. Accessed April 23, 2007</ref>