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To Protect and Preserve: An Early History of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois, 1900-1930

Dwight H Perkins (1867-1941)

Dwight H. Perkins was a member of the “Prairie School” of architects. Over his long career, Perkins became a nationally known architect who designed over two hundred buildings in the Chicago area, including more than forty schools for the Chicago Board of Education. Perkins’s tenure as the Board of Education’s chief architect was marked by controversy. The Board accused him of incompetence, extravagance, and insubordination, and eventually removed him from his post. His advocacy for Cook County forest preserves spanned over two decades. He co-wrote the Metropolitan Parks Report in 1905 that jumpstarted the forest preserve campaign, led the famed Saturday Afternoon Walking Club excursions, and served on the “Plan Committee,” which identified and acquired lands for the new forest preserve.

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Dwight H Perkins (1867-1941) Perkins was a member of the "Prairie School" of architects. Over his long career, Perkins became a nationally known architect who designed over two hundred buildings in the Chicago area, including more than forty schools for the Chicago Board of Education. Perkins's tenure as the Board of Education's chief architect was marked by controversy. The Board accused him of incompetence, extravagance, and insubordination. While he was exonerated of the first two charges during his public trial, he was found to be insubordinate and removed from his post. His involvement in the Forest Preserve District spanned over two decades: he co-wrote the Metropolitan Parks Report in 1905 that jumpstarted the forest preserve campaign, led the famed Saturday Afternoon Walking Club excursions, and served on the Plan Committee, which identified and acquired lands for the forest preserve. Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The Forest Preserves of Cook County owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County in the State of Illinois, 1921, page 87. Special Collections & University Archives, University of Illinois Chicago Library.