Named for Garfield Boulevard and a nearby glacial ridge, the area suffered from land of poor quality and was historically used as a transportation corridor rather than a place of residence.

Annexed to Chicago piecemeal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the area's population surged during the 1920s after Midway International Airport was constructed.

[1] The area was primarily used as a thoroughfare rather than a place of residence by both indigenous people and white settlers.

Transportation through the area was done through Archer Road, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and the Chicago and Alton Railroad.

Other speculators purchased land in the area, as did farmers, but few maintained a permanent presence.

Some of the earliest settlers were Dutch farmers; by 1899 the Archer Avenue Reformed Church had moved from nearby Summit and comprised 275 parishioners.

At this time they solely inhabited the LeClaire Courts housing project, which had been constructed in 1950 and expanded in 1954.

Loss of traffic at Midway in favor of O'Hare International Airport farther north caused a decline in jobs and population.

The trial of corrupt police officer Michael D’Andrea led to racial tensions in the community.

[1] LeClaire Courts was built in 1950 as the first integrated low-rise housing project in Chicago, and named for the pioneer Antoine Le Claire.

[5] The residents were evicted in 2009 and the complex was demolished in 2011 to make way for a redevelopment into mixed-income housing; although the previous tenants were given a right to return to the new development, the site remained vacant as of 2016[update].

[7] English was the sole language spoken at home for 52.7 percent of residents older than five years old.

[10] Of the remaining census tracts, one in the southeast corner of the area had no data, four in the eastern half of the area had a median household income of between $36,200 and $57,900, below HUD's low-income limit and above its very low-income limit, and the remaining five had a median household income of between $57,900 and $86,900.

[15] In the Illinois Senate, the eastern part of Garfield Ridge is[update] in District 1, represented by Democrat Antonio Muñoz while the western half is[update] in District 11, represented by Democrat Martin A.

[24] The United States Postal Service operates the Clearing Post Office at 5645 South Archer Avenue.

K-8 schools serving the community area include Byrne, Hearst, Kinzie, and Mark Twain.