Harrer Park

Harrer Park fronts on Dempster Street and reaches north to Park View School, covering some 20 acres of land. The park was named for George Harrer, the first president of the Village of Morton Grove, who helped organize the first local government, sent a request for a village charter to Springfield on October 24, 1895, and then served as president for the next 14 years after the State of Illinois approved the Charter of Incorporation on December 24, 1895. In 1889, this land was the site of one of the world famous Poehlmann Brothers greenhouses, while two others stood on Lincoln Avenue. August, John, and Adolph Poehlmann began their greenhouse venture with a combined capital of just $6,090.00, and the Poehlmann Rose won first prize at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. After years of business success, the brothers went bankrupt in the Depression of 1929. The Morton Grove Day's Committee purchased this land for a park in 1940 for $52,000.00, donated it to the newly organized Morton Grove Park District in 1951, and Harrer Park underwent a complete renovation in the years 1991-94. To commemorate the centennial celebration of 1995, a permanent memorial in the form of a gazebo was constructed at the south end of the park.

Morton Grove, Illinois · United States