Starrett

Starrett
Name	Starrett
Settlement type	Town
Nickname	"The Mill Quarter"
Coordinates	0°0′N 0°0″E
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook County
Established title	Founded
Established date	1853
Population total	14,200
Area total km2	12.4

Starrett Starrett is a town in Cook County, Illinois noted for its 19th‑century industrial development and Victorian architecture. The town grew around textile and woodworking mills and later diversified into machinery manufacturing, linking it to transportation hubs such as the Illinois Central Railroad and the Erie Canal trade routes. Starrett's civic institutions intersect with regional history involving the Great Chicago Fire, the Pullman Strike, and the broader industrialization of the Midwestern United States.

History

Starrett originated in the 1850s as a mill settlement along a tributary of the Chicago River, founded by entrepreneurs from Boston, Massachusetts and investors connected to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Early growth accelerated after the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the arrival of the Illinois Central Railroad, which connected Starrett to ports like Chicago and inland markets such as St. Louis. During the Civil War era, manufacturers in Starrett supplied goods to units mustered in Camp Douglas and participated in wartime contracts that linked them to procurement offices in Washington, D.C..

In the late 19th century, Starrett's mills expanded coal and timber supply chains tied to Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, while immigrant labor flows from Germany, Ireland, and Poland reshaped the town's demography. Labor unrest during the 1890s and the 1910s mirrored national events such as the Haymarket affair and the Pullman Strike, prompting municipal reforms influenced by Progressive figures associated with Hull House and activists who corresponded with leaders in New York City and Boston. The interwar period saw diversification into precision instruments and machine tools, supplying innovators connected to Sears, Roebuck and Co. and suppliers for the Ford Motor Company ecosystem.

Post‑World War II suburbanization shifted Starrett's economy toward services and small‑scale manufacturing, while preservation movements in the 1960s and 1970s sought to protect Victorian neighborhoods using models from Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. Economic restructuring in the 1980s paralleled trends in Detroit and Cleveland, prompting revitalization initiatives tied to federal programs inspired by Great Society–era planning and partnerships with universities such as the University of Illinois.

Notable People and Families

Starrett’s elite families included the Harringtons, the Delanos, and the Whitakers, who maintained links to banking houses in New York City and industrialists with ties to Philadelphia. Prominent civic leaders from Starrett sent delegates to national conventions in Chicago and included alumni of Harvard University and Yale University who later served on boards of regional institutions such as the Chicago Historical Society.

Industrialists from Starrett collaborated with engineers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and designers influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, bringing recognition from organizations like the American Institute of Architects. Labor organizers with origins in Starrett participated in unions that affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and activists met with reformers from Hull House and delegates who later worked with civil rights leaders in Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama.

Artists and writers who lived in Starrett engaged with broader cultural networks, including patrons from The New Yorker and correspondents at publishing houses such as HarperCollins and Penguin Random House. Educational figures connected to Starrett taught at institutions like the Northwestern University and contributed to curricula informed by advances at Columbia University.

Companies and Products

Starrett hosted a range of companies, from textile mills that supplied fabric to retailers including Macy's and Montgomery Ward to machine‑tool firms whose products were used by manufacturers like General Motors and International Harvester. The Starrett Foundry produced castings adopted by builders contracting with firms such as Carnegie Steel Company and suppliers to infrastructure projects involving the Army Corps of Engineers.

Precision‑tool manufacturers in Starrett secured patents alongside innovators from Bell Laboratories and sold gauges and micrometers used in workshops across the United States Steel Corporation network. Local entrepreneurs founded consumer goods firms that retailed through chains like J.C. Penney and marketed seasonal items promoted in periodicals such as The Saturday Evening Post.

In the late 20th century, small technology firms in Starrett partnered with research centers affiliated with Argonne National Laboratory and supplied components to aerospace contractors working with Boeing and defense programs connected to Northrop Grumman.

Places and Landmarks

Architectural landmarks in Starrett include the Victorian‑era Harrington House, modeled after designs seen in Boston and listed alongside preservation sites similar to those in Savannah, Georgia. The Mill Quarter features restored brick warehouses reminiscent of complexes in Lowell, Massachusetts and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, repurposed for studios and galleries that host touring exhibits organized with museums like the Art Institute of Chicago.

Civic buildings include a courthouse patterned on precedents from Philadelphia and a train depot once served by the Illinois Central Railroad and connected to express routes terminating in Chicago. Green spaces and parks were developed with landscape ideas shared with planners from Olmsted Brothers projects and municipal plans influenced by designers who worked in Central Park.

Nearby waterways and bridges link Starrett to regional infrastructure projects such as locks and canals used in commerce with Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee, while memorials in the town commemorate veterans who served in conflicts including the Spanish–American War and both World Wars.

Cultural References and Media

Starrett appears in regional literature alongside settings like Chicago and rural Illinois towns depicted by authors associated with Midwestern literature circles. Filmmakers have used Starrett's industrial streets as locations for period pieces in productions collaborated with studios from Los Angeles and crews that have worked on films distributed by companies like Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures.

Music scenes in Starrett engaged touring acts on circuits including venues tied to booking agents in Nashville, Tennessee and promoters who worked with festivals such as Lollapalooza. Local newspapers and broadcasters connected to media conglomerates like Tribune Company covered municipal affairs, while oral histories archived in institutions including the Library of Congress preserve accounts of Starrett’s social and industrial life.

Category:Towns in Cook County, Illinois