NILES POLISH MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS
NILES ST. HEDWIG INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
| Niles St. Hedwig High School | |||||||||
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| Credit: Lake County Discovery Museum/Curt Teich Postcard Archives | |||||||||
The History of Niles St. Hedwig High School
Niles (population 29,513) is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Cook County. The community was incorporated in 1899 and is right next to Skokie in northeastern Illinois, along with Glenview, Morton Grove, and Park Ridge nearby. The name Niles comes from the township in which the village is located. The township was named after Hezekiah Niles, a popular newspaper publisher of the 1830s. The township was originally named Heaton’s Furnace, then Nilestown, before settling on simply Niles.
Among the items that Niles is known for that the village offered free ambulance service as early as 1946, the Bradford Company (known for its fine collectables), and the Tam O’Shanter Golf Course.
St. Hedwig High School opened in 1911 at what is now the corner of Harlem Avenue and Touhy Avenue across the street from Chicago’s northwest side neighborhood of Edison Park. It was built to serve as an orphanage and originally operated as two separate schools, the Polish Manual Training School for Boys and St. Hedwig Industrial School for Girls. The school began to offer a two-year course in high school academic studies in 1924 under the direction of the Rt. Rev. Paul Rhode and other pastors of churches that served families of Polish descent. St. Hedwig was a very large complex which sat on 17 acres of land. The buildings included a Dining Hall, Gymnasium, School building, and Dorms for both boys and girls. All were connected by an underground tunnel system. Many of the orphans came from eastern Europe and were orphans as the result of World War I and World War II.
St. Hedwig cared for Polish orphans while teaching them a trade. Students were urged to transfer to other Catholic high schools in Chicago or nearby to complete their four-year education in order to receive a diploma. As the 1950’s came to a close enrollment at the school began to fall. St. Hedwig closed its doors in 1960. The main reason for its closure include dwindling enrollment and financial concerns. The remaining students were transferred to Angel Guardian School in Chicago.
The St. Hedwig School Complex was soon renovated and became a seminary known as Junior College Department of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary. In 1968 this seminary became a part of Loyola University being renamed Niles College of Loyola University. It was decided in 1995 to close this facility all together. The buildings were all demolished a short time later.
Today the former St. Hedwig School grounds are utilized by the Niles Park District as Pioneer Park. Two baseball fields, a batting cage, and mini-golf course are part of the park. On the east side of the school grounds are 8 condominium buildings. At the corner of Touhy Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue is a Veteran’s Memorial which includes a plaque recognizing the former St. Hedwig’s existence on the site.
A wonderful history complete with photos of the Niles St. Hedwig High School is available at the following web address:
St. Hedwig’s Industrial School for Boys and Girls
FACTS ABOUT NILES ST. HEDWIG HIGH SCHOOL Year opened: 1911 Two-yr academic course began: 1924 Year closed: 1960 |
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MEMORIES**From Sharon Stankowicz Fritz: “Jules & Louie Pandera were orphans at St. Hedwig. Jules was involved in the Niles Park District and Louie was manager of Bunker Hill in the 60’s-70’s. They were good friends of our family.” IF YOU HAVE MORE INFORMATION TO SHARE PLEASE CONTACT US…. In fact, we’d actually like to make it much longer with as many facts and memories about St. Hedwig High School in Niles. Did the school offer any athletics or extra-curricular activities, who were some of their notable students/residents, school colors, school song, etc. are some of the items we’d like to know more about. Please contact us via email at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net
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