Booker T. Washington Progressive Club

Booker T. Washington Progressive Club brochure, 1939-1940. Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection, Dunn Museum, 94.26.

One of the most active community-based organizations in Lake County was the African-American led Booker T. Washington Progressive Club of Zion (1936 - 1982).

The club was founded by retired railroad porter, Richard Henry Williamson (1865 - 1953), who came to Zion in 1902 to join John Alexander Dowie's church. Dowie's strongly enforced policy against racism attracted African-Americans to join his church and settle in Zion.

Club brochure page listing officers and committees. Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection, Dunn Museum, 94.26.

The Booker T. Washington Progressive Club's purpose as stated in its constitution was to "bring together at frequent intervals those who are interested in promoting the cause of good citizenship, better civic relations and any topic that may improve local relationships." 

Membership was open to all, not only African-Americans. People from Kenosha, Zion, Waukegan and neighboring communities joined.

Club members during one of their regular broadcasts on WKRS Radio in Waukegan, circa 1955. At left is Naomi Williamson Marshall (1895-1968), club president and the daughter of the club's founder. Standing to the right of Mrs. Marshall (left to right) are Samuel Payne, Pearl V. Payne, Beatrice Carter, unidentified man, and Rachel Penny. Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection, Dunn Museum 94.26.78.

The Club collaborated with local schools and organizations to present musical programs and plays. Shown at this program are Naomi Marshall at far left and Rachel Penny singing. Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection, Dunn Museum 94.26.68.

The club's civic and social contributions included sending care packages to service men and women during World War II, contributions to the Piney Woods Country Life School in Piney Woods, Mississippi, raising money to build the Pierce Campus for Zion High School, raising money to maintain the Faith Sunshine Nursery in Waukegan, and sending clothing for the students of the Tuskegee Institute, an African-American college in Alabama founded by Booker T. Washington.

Club members in costume for a play production, circa 1960. Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection, Dunn Museum 94.26.77.

The Booker T. Washington Progressive Club’s Labor Day Parade float, circa 1960, represented a message of equality and inclusiveness with beauty queens of different races, and individuals in traditional ethnic clothes. Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection, Dunn Museum, 94.26.83

The club was instrumental in bringing well known African-American artists to the community to perform, including the popular tenor, Pruth McFarlin, and Booker T. Washington's son, who spoke at a club ceremony.

Cornerstone placed on the Club's clubhouse in Zion, Illinois, 1956. On exhibit at the Bess Bower Dunn Museum, Libertyville, Illinois. Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection, Dunn Museum 2020.0.1.

 
The club was most active through the 1960s after which membership began to decline. In 1982, the club dissolved and sold its clubhouse at 2103 Gabriel in Zion. Today, the building is used as a gathering place for Islamic worshippers.

For more information on the Booker T. Washington Progressive Club Collection at the Dunn Museum, please email collections staff at Lake County History Archives LCHA@LCFPD.org. 

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcpfpd.org

The Zion Hotel Dome

 John Alexander Dowie, official portrait, 1903. Dunn Museum. 

The founding of the City of Zion is a remarkable tale of one man's will. The charismatic preacher and faith healer, John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907) founded the Christian Catholic Church and the city of his dreams, Zion.

Born in Scotland, Dowie came to Illinois in 1893 when he preached outside the gates of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. By 1899, his followers numbered in the thousands and had a Temple in Chicago.

It was Dowie's ambitious plan to create a theocracy—a city of God. He worked with a land agent to anonymously buy 6,000 acres in Benton Township, Lake County. Dowie was savvy enough to realize there might be opposition to his church claiming so much land. The local newspapers were quick to speculate on the flurry of purchases, possibly for a railroad or the Armour Meat Packing Company.

In July 1901, lots in several of Dowie's newly platted subdivisions were made available for lease, and the boom was on. The caveat, you had to be a member of Dowie's church. Families set up tents to live in while they built their homes.

Sheridan Road looking north from approximately 26th Street, circa 1905. Dunn Museum. (Location updated 4/5/19).

 

Early in 1902, Dowie had the Elijah Hospice "hotel" constructed to accommodate workers who would build the new city. The Hospice was located on Sheridan Road and 26th Street. 

The bus's sign denotes "Kenosha." Circa 1930. Dunn Museum.

It took 500 workers two months to complete the three-story building, which at the time was the largest wooden structure in Illinois. Painted white, the Hospice seemed to be the very icon of Dowie's message of "clean and faithful living." 

Rare photo of Zion Hotel interior taken in 1939 at the annual dinner of the Booker T. Washington Progressive Club. Dunn Museum 94.26.1. 

Zion Hotel, circa 1965. Dunn Museum 97.5.1.

In the 1950s, the building became a residence for senior citizens and was known as the Zion Hotel.

Advertisement for boarding at the Zion Hotel. Chicago Tribune, September 16, 1962. Newspapers.com

By the 1970s, the building needed repair, so it had to be condemned. In 1979, it was razed, but Zion's citizens donated $20,000 to save the dome as a reminder of the city's extraordinary past. 

Since 1980, the dome has been maintained through private and public funds on the same property where the hotel once stood.

Zion Hotel Dome, 2003. 

Credit: John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive (1972-2008), 

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

 
The dome is one of the city's oldest landmarks and sits prominently along Sheridan Road, where it is seen by thousands of people each day. This is the only surviving remnant of Zion's early wooden structures, which were all destroyed by fire or bulldozer.

Two other significant Dowie-era buildings are also preserved in Zion—Dowie's former residence, Shiloh House, and Shiloh Cottage, both brick Victorians. The Shiloh House is home to the Zion Historical Society.

Postcard view of Dowie's residence, circa 1907. Dunn Museum 96.6.4

In recent months, the dome's deteriorating condition has again caused concerns. There is renewed debate about who should pay for its maintenance.

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@LCFPD.org