HIstory of mahoney park

In the early 1930s, the village of Kenilworth accepted a four-acre parcel of land graciously gifted by Mary Mahoney. It was part of an original 38-acre homestead along Lake Michigan belonging to her family and that had been farmed since the mid 19th century.  Located where Sheridan Road meets Tenth Street in Wilmette, it is a “green gateway” into the village.  From beginning to end, Mahoney Park was born of collaborative efforts.  The scale of the initiative was far too large for just local funds, so the Village partially financed the clearing and construction of the Park through the federal Civil Works Administration established during the Great Depression.  An eclectic group of citizens from the Garden Clubs, Joseph Sears School, Kenilworth Club, Kenilworth Historical Society, village and park boards formed the Mahoney Park Advisory Committee for direction. 

In August 1933, the Kenilworth Home and Garden Club hired the Danish-American landscape architect Jens Jensen to develop a plan for a perennial wildflower preserve and bird sanctuary:  a type of outdoor classroom for nature studies.  Jensen was known for pioneering the uniquely American “Prairie Style” design aesthetic in Chicago’s West Parks, including Columbus, Humboldt, Garfield, and Douglas Parks.  Jensen had also created numerous parks throughout the Midwest, and residential gardens for estates of major industrialists such as the Armours, Fords, and Rosenwalds.  An early conservationist, Jensen organized movements that led to the creation of the Cook County Forest Preserve, the Illinois state park system, and the Indiana Dunes Park and National Lakeshore.  Jensen had already collaborated with local architect George Maher on gardens for five homes in Kenilworth, and he believed in the humanizing power of the landscape and was committed to working closely with indigenous plants and trees.  His use of native plants and trees in “stratified” plantings, one of his trademarks, is still apparent in Mahoney Park:  a larger canopy of mature trees, steps down to flowering hawthorns and crab trees and even lower to witch hazels, ninebarks, smooth roses and finally to perennials such as the spring ephemerals Jack-in-the-pulpit and Virginia bluebells.  The diversity and adaptability of these native perennials has allowed them to be sustained for decades.

In 1984, the Kenilworth Council of Garden Clubs and the Kenilworth Beautification Committee raised funds and began restoration work.   In April 1985, Mahoney Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.