Pullman Places and Organizations
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources owns and preserves the surviving portions of the original Pullman factory complex as well as the Hotel Florence and the Pullman State Historic Site.
Pullman Factory & Hotel Florence – Northeast Region (illinois.gov)
A museum to promote, honor and celebrate the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and contributions made by African-Americans to America’s labor history, through the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
This strong civic organization, which represents the approximately 800 families who live in the district, was founded in 1960, when the entire historic section of Pullman from 111th Street to 115th Street (also originally known as the Original Town of Pullman) was threatened with total demolition to create an industrial park. The Organization defeated the proposal and continues to preserve the historic nature and quiet atmosphere of this landmark community.
The BHPHF is a 501(c)(3) organization established to preserve selected residential properties in the Original Town of Pullman and to use such properties to facilitiate interpretation of the lives of workers in Pullman during the period from 1881 – 1910, the period of time the housing was owned by Pullman’s Palace Car Company/The Pullman Company.
The Garden Club maintains a number of public gardens in Pullman, such as the Arcade Park beds and the Gateway Gardens. The club also hosts regular programs and an annual Garden Walk through private gardens in the historic district.
This site provides information about the Pullman branch of the Chicago Public Library system. The library was part of the campus of the Pullman School of Manual Training (now the Gwendolyn Brooks Academy of the Chicago Public Schools), just to the west of the Pullman factory.
Related Sites and Organizations
“The Largest Railway Museum in America,” this museum is dedicated to the preservation and operation of railroad and mass transit rolling stock and the display of related artifacts in a realistic setting. The museum also features many Pullman passenger, dining and other cars in their holdings. They also maintain the Pullman Library that houses an extensive collection of construction drawings, photographs and technical data from the Pullman Company.
This wonderful teaching aid from the Illinois State Museum website takes the visitor through decisions that Alexander Curtis, a fictitious new employee to the Pullman Company, makes in moving to Pullman.
The Golden Landmarks Association is rebuilding and restoring the historic log house of George M. Pullman, owned by Pullman when he lived in Colorado during the 1860s. Pullman used this ranch and other businesses to raise the money he needed to realize his dream of creating the famed Pullman Palace Car Company.
George M. Pullman built this church in 1894 as a memorial to his parents, in his home town of Albion, NY. The church was designed by Pullman architect, Solon S. Beman, and stained glass by Louis C. Tiffany.
Other Planned Community Sites
This company town for whiskey maker Hiram Walker is now incorporated into Windsor, Ontario, Canada and is a thriving historic community today. Follow the “Hiram Who?” and “Places Then/Now” links for more about this history.
Lowell’s planned textile mill city, in scale, technological innovation and development of an urban working class, marked the beginning of the industrial transformation of America.
The model community for the Sir Titus Salt’s woolen mill, this town was said to be the basis for George Pullman’s plan for his town of Pullman.
New Harmony, a planned community, was first a spiritual sanctuary that later became a haven for international scientists, scholars and educators who sought equality in communal living.
Reading List
This bibliography provides a select listing of Pullman references. Please note: Many items are out of print but may be found at some libraries or online. We cite sources when available.
- Adelman, William J. Touring Pullman, Labor History Society, Chicago, 1977.
(Available from the Illinois Labor History Society bookstore.) - Beberdick, Frank and the Historic Pullman Foundation. Chicago’s Historic Pullman District. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 1998.
- Buder, Stanley. Pullman: An Experiment in Industrial Order and Community Planning, 1880-1930. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967.
- Carwardine, Rev. William H. The Pullman Strike. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and Company, 1894.
(Available from the Illinois Labor History Society bookstore.) - Chateauvert, M. Melinda. Marching Together: Women of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997.
- Doty, Mrs. Duane. The Town of Pullman Illustrated. Chicago: T.P. Struhsacker, Publisher, 1893, reprint 1974.
Online version available on Google books - Ely, Richard T. Pullman: A Social Study. Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,LXX, February 1885, pp. 452-466.
Online version available on Google Books - Koopman, H.R. Pullman: The City of Brick. Roseland, Illinois: H.R. Koopman, 1893.
- Knoll, Charles M. Go Pullman, Life and Times. Rochester, New York: National Railway Historical Society.
- Husband, Joseph. The Story of the Pullman Car. A.C. McClurg & Co., Publisher, 1917.
Online version available on Google books - Leyendecker, Liston L. Palace Car Prince: A Bibliography of George M. Pullman. Niwot, Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 1992.
- Lindsay, Almont. The Pullman Strike: The Story of a Unique Experiment and of a Great Labor Upheaval. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1942.
Online version available on Google books - McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick. A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter. New York: Walker & Co., 1989.
- Papke, David Ray. The Pullman Case: The Clash of Labor and Capital in Industrial America.
- Perata, David D. Those Pullman Blues: An Oral History of the African American Railroad Attendant. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996 and Lanham, MD: Madison Books, 1999.
- Pond, Irving K. America’s First Planned Industrial Town. The Illinois Society of Architects Monthly Bulletin, June-July, 1934, pp.6-9.
- Santino, Jack. Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle: Stories of Black Pullman Porters. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1991.
- Stein, R. Conrad. The Story of the Pullman Strike. Chicago: Children’s Press, 1995.
- Smith, Carl. Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995.
- Tye, Larry. Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class.
- U.S. Strike Commission. Report on the Chicago Strike of June-July, 1894. G.P.O., Publisher, 1895.
Online version available on Google books - Pullman’s First Car – excerpt from The London Times
Article on the start of the Pullman Company.
Pullman’s Landmark Status
Nationally significant historic places are designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. The Pullman Historic District was granted this designation in 1970 through the work of its residents. Learn more about the program and the Pullman designation.
This state agency administers all state and federal historic preservation and incentive programs in Illinois, including the National Register of Historic Places.
This site provides information on the City of Chicago designated historic landmarks, including the Historic Pullman District. View and architectural style guide, themed tours of Chicago landmarks, learn about the architects of these buildings and more.
Pullman Employee and Genealogical Records
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library has extensive holdings for genealogical research.
The library also has a collection of Pullman employee personnel records, and a digital collection of Pullman car drawings.
Chicago Public Library: Calumet Regional Community Collection – 1850-1975
Chicago Public Library: Historic Pullman Collection – 1882-1979
South Suburban Genealogical & Historical Society
SSG&HS holds the Pullman Collection, consisting of personnel records from Pullman Car Works circa 1900-1949. There are approximately 200,000 individuals represented in the collection.
