| Origins | Settled in 1893 and annexed in 1889 |
|---|---|
| Area | Far Southwest Side |
| Boundaries | 75th along the railroad and up by 74th on the north, 87th on the south, CSX Forest Hill to Dan Ryan Woods on the east to Cicero Ave wrapping around to 77th wrapping around to Pulaski on the east |
| Gangs headquartered | Two Six, Satan Disciples, Krazy Get Down Boys, Gangster Disciples, |
The marshy prairie Ashburn community was a rather late bloomer to the city of Chicago as it was just a vacant plot of land within the town of Lake throughout most of the 19th century while other Chicago neighborhoods were becoming heavily settled. Ashburn was a simple ash dumping ground. Chicago residents would travel to this area and dump all their ashes from primitive heating devices in the nineteenth century. This is the origin of Ashburn’s name because it was an ash dumping ground. (Fact source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/85.html)
During these dumping years this area was annexed into the city of Chicago in 1889 and finally in the year 1893 the Clarkdale subdivision began construction as people at last were moving into this no man’s land of an area. This subdivision developed around 83rd and Central Park Ave. The new Grand Trunk railway would become the source of employment for these new Dutch, Irish and Swedish residents but the population remained small. (fact source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/85.html)
Nothing new and exciting would come to Ashburn until 1916 when the Ashburn Flying Field airport opened which became a training camp for the Signal Corps during World War 1. This airport caused the population to more than double to about 1,363 residents. The airport ran out of popularity in 1927 when Midway Airport opened which also caused Ashburn to be less interesting. (Fact source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/85.html)
During the depression years of the 1930s Ashburn continued to not grow as the airport remained functional until 1939 when it closed down for good further causing Ashburn to be a rather boring area all throughout the 1940s. (fact source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/85.html)
There were signs of hope during World War II as the Chrysler Dodge plant opened in 1943 to manufacture bomber engines. Tucker’s Automobile Manufacturing opened in 1946 all between Pulaski and Cicero Ave which brought employment to the area. (fact source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/85.html)
Finally, in the year 1949 life was once again breathed back into Ashburn as the Scottsdale subdivision began construction over the forgotten airfield of the former Ashburn Flying Field. The Scottsdale Shopping center was built in the year 1955 amidst all this construction and this gave the area a much better appeal. In the year 1965 the famous Vito’s and Nicks Pizza restaurant opened at 84th and Pulaski which became a staple in the community for decades to come as people from all over came to dine here.
By the 1950s, many families had World War II veterens as heads of household. Many city workers like firemen and policemen lived in Ashburn, especially policemen. This further drove this community to be safer than most other south side neighborhoods.
During the 1960s Ashburn residents became upset about racial integration into their schools, churches, and their neighborhood as well as African American settlement began to grow significantly in the neighboring Auburn – Gresham and West Englewood communities; however, the GAPA (Greater Ashburn Planning Association) worked to settle these differences. (Fact source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/85.html) The area would remain heavily white throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Despite being an almost all-white community during these 20th century decades Ashburn has always taken a firm stance on racial discrimination and block busting tactics and is quick to sue predatory real estate agencies. This has allowed home values to remain stable and for most of the community to be home owners thanks to the GAPA. (Fact source http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/85.html)
Regardless of the GAPA and Ashburn’s efforts, the efforts did not reach east of Western Avenue to the tracks because residents regarded that area as Auburn-Gresham and in the early 70s, most whites left that area east of Western Ave which technically established a black community on the streets of Ashburn.
In the early 70s white families were moving to Ashburn from Lincoln Park, Little Village and several other communities that had left these blockbusted communities that were now gang infested. These new residents joined long time residents in taking a big stand against racist profit generating practices like block busting and panic peddling. This strengthened Ashurn’s fight against change.
One thing long time residents began to agree upon was to not go east of Western Avenue because it was too close to the Auburn-Gresham community; however, the railroad tracks divided Ashburn from Auburn-Gresham. This ended up alienating the area of Ashburn between Western Avenue and the tracks which is in the 77th to 83rd Street area along Oakley to Claremont. This fear may have triggered white flight among residents that lived in this area and perhaps allowed banks to redline this area of the neighborhood. This was like a disowning of a certain area. This then allowed lower income families to move into this area, especially lower income African Americans looking to escape more hardened south side neighborhoods.
By 1975, anger was growing over the southside migration of African American families which led some long-time residents to support south side Nazi organizations. Among the youth, the Insane Popes from the Midway area became very popular and one of their goals was to preserve this community as mostly white. This was the beginning of the “Vatican City” Insane Popes in 1975 in Ashburn.
In the early 1980s, the first African American made the brave move into the Ashburn community by 79th and Western area. This sparked outrage from this mostly white community. To protect the new African American community, the Black P Stones arrived in the earlier 80s but the Stones would not have much fight with Insane Popes because the Popes and Stones were bound by the People alliance. The Stones set up territory at 79th and Western when they arrived. Not only was their animosity between whites and blacks but also between Hispanics and blacks. This brought in the La Raza street gang from Pilsen that battled the Black P Stones and Insane Popes. By the mid-1980s a significant gang conflict had developed in Ashburn between the three gangs. Each race had their own gang.
In the year 1990, Two Six moved into the area of 79th and Pulaski which brought an intense gang rivarly between La Raza and Two Six. La Raza now moved to 76th and Ridgeway as the new dominant Hispanic gang would now be Two Six. La Raza would leave the community in the 2000s decade.
During the 1990s-decade Ashburn saw an explosion of multiple new gangs moving in starting with Two Six. Ambrose arrived in this neighborhood along 79th Street and got pretty big in the 90s but by the end of the decade they closed their territory. The Krazy Get Down Boys arrived in the 90s and became a permanent and larger influence in this area. For quite some time Krazy Get Down Boys fought the Two Sixs for 79th and Pulaski until KGBs left the area putting their focus on their Purple City turf or by the 83rd and Kostner area section. The Spanish Lords formed at the corner of the neighborhood at 87th and California in the 1990s and had a impactful stay for some time. The TAP Boys arrived at 79th and Pulaski to protect the Arab residents near here as they fought with KGBs and Two Six. This group did not last long.
Among the black community came more Black P Stones in the 1990s that arrived in the new Maycrest subdivision in 1993.
After the 1990s La Raza, TAP Boys, Ambrose, Insane Popes and La Raza withdrew from these streets leaving Two Six, Krazy Get Down Boys and Black P Stones to run this neighborhood. In the 2000s-decade Gangster Disciples and Black Disciples arrived and shared territory.
Beginning in the early 1990s, gang banging became a major issue as the area was now 43% black by the year 2000 and over 16% Hispanic by then. This showed how strong white flight was in the 1990s and it would only increase heavily in the 2000s decade until the white population was reduced to 10%. Crime rates and murder rates climbed in this community and at some points it became one of the more dangerous areas but only for short periods of time.
This neighborhood is mostly for middle class blacks and Hispanics that take pride in their community; therefore, crime is not out of control.
The Gangster Disciples, Black P Stones, Satan Disciples, Krazy Get Down Boys and Two Six would become the dominating gangs of Ashburn.
Here are the gangs that have once dwelled in this community or still do:
Gangster Disciples 2000s-present years
78th to 79th, Christiana to Spaulding (MOB ABM)
79th to 80th, Western to Bell (Stain Gang Juice World) 2000s-present years (Shared with Black P Stones)
83rd to 84th, Kedzie to Whipple (TTM Quietmoney) 2000s-present years (Shared with Black P Stones)
79th & Homan 2000s-present years (Shared with Black Disciples)
83rd & St Louis 2010s-present years
79th & Lawndale 2020s (present years)
Tall Arabian Posse 1990s
79th & Pulaski 1990s
Spanish Lords 90s, 2000s
87th & California 90s, 2000s
Insane Popes (South side group) 1975-2000s
79th to 83rd, Homan to Kedzie (Vatican City)
83rd & Lawndale
83rd & St Louis 90s, 2000s
La Raza 80s, 90s, 2000s
76th & Ridgeway 80s, 90s, 2000s
79th & Pulaski 80s-1990
79th & Lawndale 80s-1990
Black P Stones 80s-present years
79th & Campbell
79th & Homan 80s, 90s
79th & Western 80s-present years (Shared with Gangster Disciples)
83rd & Kedzie 90s-present years (Shared with Gangster Disciples)
Ambrose 1990s
79th to 82nd, Knox to Kilbourn
79th & Kostner 90s
Krazy Get Down Boys 90s-present years
77th to 79th, Cicero to Tripp (Rainey Park, Purple City) 2000s-present years
Homan from 77th to 79th
83rd to 85th, Kostner to Kenneth
81st & Kostner
81st & Tripp 90s, 2000s, 2020s (present years)
83rd Place & Knox 90s-present years
79th & Pulaski 90s, 2000s, 2010s
Two Six Established 1990-present years
75th to 79th, Lawndale to Pulaski 1990-present years
79th to 81st, Pulaski to Central Park Ave 1990-present years
Satan Disciples 2000s-present years
81st to 83rd, Karlov to Pulaski
Black Disciples 2000s-present years
79th & Homan (Shared with Gangster Disciples) 2000s-present years