Farmers Market in Populous Palatine Echoes Suburb's Farm Town Past

Bob Benenson
May 12
1 min read

Home to Just Over 1,000 People a Century Ago, It's Now Home to 68,000

Today, Chicago is ringed by densely populated suburbs. Few people today recall when satellite cities such as Palatine — located just 35 miles northwest of downtown Chicago — were rural farm towns.

Straddling the border of Illinois' Cook and Lake counties, Palatine in the 1920 census had a little more than 1,200 residents. Even as late as 1950, the population was just more than 4,000. But suburban sprawl kicked in, exploding in the 1990s.

Today, Palatine is home to about 68,000 residents. According to the Palatine Historical Association, the last farm in Palatine Township closed in 2017.

You can still find farmers in Palatine, though... at the farmers market held in the parking lot of the city's Metra commuter train station on Saturdays between 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Ed Kugler, manager at Ravinia Farmers Market in the north Chicago suburb of Highland Park, is making the rounds of other Chicago region farmers market for his Farmers Market Reporter series, which Local Food Forum is carrying. He visited the Palatine Farmers Market on Saturday, May 3, the opening day of its outdoor season.