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Archer Park takes its name from the surrounding Archer Heights community. The community and its main artery, Archer Avenue, are named for Col. William Beatty Archer (1793-1870), a Commissioner for the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which paralleled the road in the 1800s. Archer, an abolitionist as well as a civil engineer, nominated Abraham Lincoln for Vice President in 1856. The ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ acquired land from 1949-1950 and established Archer Park to provide green space in an area then experiencing significant industrial development. The new park was part of a ten-year, district-wide program to increase recreational opportunities in underserved neighborhoods in post-World War II Chicago. Archer Park provided solely outdoor recreational facilities until 1970, when the Park District constructed a small fieldhouse.