In 1864 the McCormick Theological Seminary sprang up from a cabbage patch that once thrived on land now occuppied by DePaul University’s East Campus in Lincoln Park. A new exhibit and publication created by a long-time resident of that very land reveals the history of this 20-acre parcel stretching along Fullerton Avenue between Halsted Street and Sheffield Avenue.

Elizabeth Ware, a resident of the historic rowhouses on Belden Avenue who recently earned a master’s degree at DePaul, dug into the records of the Presbyterian school that for 111 years in Lincoln Park prepared students for the Christian ministry. Her photographic exhibit and 56-page accompanying booklet titled "Within the Wrought-Iron Fence: The Hidden Heritage of McCormick Theological Seminary" now serve as a reminder to what once was.

"For me, understanding what went before me adds a new dimension to my everyday enjoyment of my surroundings," Ware said. "I want to share the heritage that McCormick passed on to those of us here today."

A special event has been planned in conjunction with the exhibit to help preserve even more of Lincoln Park’s rich history. On Feb. 19 local community groups will come together to launch the Lincoln Park Research Initiative. The organizations will hold a reception at the exhibit under the theme "Keep History Alive in Lincoln Park." Proceeds from the $25 admission will finance a new internship position in the DePaul University Archives to make Lincoln Park historical materials more accessible to the community.

This event will help DePaul mark its 100^th anniversary in the neighborhood and symbolizes the reciprocal relationship between neighborhood groups and the university.

Ware’s exhibit is on display in the Haber Lounge of DePaul’s John T. Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., through March 31. It is free and open to the public during library hours: Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to midnight, Fridays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to midnight.

Visitors can peruse more than 70 photographs of the seminary’s elegant buildings, activities and documentation of faculty and student life. A model of the campus made in 1951 by a McCormick professor and other artifacts are also on display.

The seminary was founded in Hanover, Indiana in 1829. It later moved north to Chicago to follow population growth, changed its name and accepted $100,000 for endowed professorships from Chicago industrialist Cyrus H. McCormick, who invented the reaper. The seminary left Lincoln Park in 1975 to relocate to Hyde Park, and it was then that DePaul acquired most of its former grounds. The 1880s rowhouses originally built as investment property and later used as faculty and married student housing are now privately owned by a group of citizens dedicated to preserving the landmark homes. The homeowners make up the Seminary Townhouse Association.

The exhibit and booklet also chronicle the integration of campus life and neighborhood life with ample photographs and descriptions of the symbiotic relationship that existed between the two.

For more information on the benefit call 312/645-9400. For more information on the exhibit or to donate historic materials call DePaul Archives at 773/325-7864.