A new look into Flossmoor’s history by the Flossmoor Public Library has recently been uploaded, adding over 200 photos to their digital historical collection, highlighting maps and village life from the 1970s, the early 20th and late 19th century.  

The photos were uploaded to the Flossmoor Historical Images page on Flickr by the library’s history curator and Adult Services manager, David Martin, in early 2025 after finding them as photographic negatives in an envelope sitting in a drawer, he said. 

A few other photos were sourced from the Chicago Heights Public Library through his wife, who works there, after finding photos of the village from the 1960s. 

The photos show a different Flossmoor from today, with the photos from the ’70s showing the same structures with different store fronts, Flossmoor Station housing small shops before it was redeveloped as a brewery and restaurant, and day to day life of residents. 

Sterling Avenue in the ’70s looked similar, but with different stores, including a bakery, a grocery store, and a pharmacy, with older residents telling him it had a soda fountain with memories of getting root beer floats, Martin said. 

Photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s show that during that time, the big pull to the village was the Flossmoor Country Club, which was the Homewood Country Club at the time, and the advertising to buy homes in the town as an escape from city life in Chicago, Martin said. 

As someone who wasn’t originally a resident when taking the job at the library in 2006, Martin said it was interesting to go through photos of places that no longer exist like Leavitt Avenue School and Nelson’s Gift Shop, which was located on Dixie and Vollmer. 

“I don’t think anyone’s looked at them in 50 years,” Martin said. “As I was digitizing them, I had a real sense of like ‘man, the public has not seen these pictures in half a century.’” 

During the early 20th century people came to Flossmoor for the golf course, which opened in 1899, Martin said. The Country Club pre-dates Flossmoor train station, with people getting off at the Homewood station and taking a stagecoach there. 

Once the Flossmoor train station was built in 1906, according to Craft Beer, the Homewood Country Club became the Flossmoor Country Club. 

A name that came up a lot around the country club photos was well-known architect George C. Nimmons, who had a summer home in Flossmoor and was most known for his work designing buildings and warehouses for the Sears Company. 

“In 1905, he designed and built his own house in Flossmoor that he would use as a summer retreat,” Martin said. “(The country club) had two clubhouses, both of which burned down. So, he actually designed the third clubhouse, which opened in 1914.” 

Nimmons would also go on to design the clubhouses for the Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood and the clubhouse for the Olympia Fields Country Club. 

With most of the photos added showing life in the 1970s, Martin said he’s happy that the photos have been able to bring back memories for the older residents who remember their life in the village from that time. 

“I would hope that this archive goes on for the next 20, 30, 40 years as a resource for people to remember how things were,” Martin said.  

He encourages resident contributions to the archive and to bring in photos that the library will be able to digitize and return the originals. 

Martin said he’d like to add more neighborhood photos. More specifically, the west and southeast edges of town. 

People are welcome to come in or call the library and ask for Martin or send JPEGs to [email protected].

Residents and others wanting to learn more about the history of Flossmoor can refer to Martin’s articles highlighting different eras and topics.