Illinois Industrial School for Girls

[2]: 3  The organization received its charter on January 9 and opened on November 1 in a building formerly used as a soldiers' home, with 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land.

[4] After some complaints of mismanagement in 1894 and 1895, Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld attempted to discharge all 105 girls, but they refused to leave.

[2]: 4 In 1906, a scandal over placement of some girls into poor homes, and the mismanagement of money, caused a change in leadership.

[1][8] In early 1907, the Board of Directors announced that they planned to leave Evanston and relocate to a new rural location in Park Ridge.

[9] With 125 girls and mounting financial difficulties, the school arranged for a charity baseball game that included a semi-professional team run by Cap Anson to be played at West Side Park.