McKinley Park (Chicago, Illinois)

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McKinley Park, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the city's southwest side.

McKinley Park has been a working-class area throughout its long history. This tradition began around 1836 when Irish workers on the Illinois & Michigan Canal took squatter's rights to small tracts of land. By the 1840s, a few farmers had purchased and drained land and sent the Irish squatters packing. One of the first attempts at town building, “Canalport,” died stillborn, but Brighton was platted in 1840 and incorporated in 1851.

The completion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal in 1848 and the coming of the Chicago & Alton Railroad in 1857 spurred further subdivision of the area. The rails amplified the transportation advantages of the area, and during the Civil War industries located along the waterways and the railroad. The Union Rolling Mill was founded in the early 1860s along the south fork of the Chicago River and produced 50 tons of rails per day. Eventually, the firm became part of U.S. Steel.