What is the history of Mount Prospect, Illinois?
At one time, Mount Prospect was a dramatically different place. The original inhabitants of the area, which today encompasses Mount Prospect, were American Indian tribes. Although few specifics are know about the individuals who lived here during the Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian periods there is a reason to believe that there may have been temporary or semi-nomadic settlements in this area. By the eighteenth century, if not before, the Potawatomi tribe inhabited this region. There was some overlap in the residence of American and European settlers with members of this tribe although there was no period of extensive trade. As significant settlement in the Mount Prospect area did not begin until few years following the conclusion of Black Hawk’s War and the 1833 treaty with the Potawatomi there was limited contact between groups. Although there is not an extensive set of resources on the topic of Mount Prospect’s first residents, they are still an integral part of the historiograp