The first mention of Bahá'u'lláh in the Western Hemisphere was in 1893, one year after his death, at the World’s Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in conjunction with the World’s Colombian Exposition…
(Excerpt from The Chicago Bahá’í Community by Mark Perry)

James B. Thornton Chase

By 1894 several Chicagoans began to study the Faith with a believer who had moved there from Egypt, and by 1895 regular classes were being held. `Abdu'l-Bahá, the Center of the Covenant and son of the Founder of the Faith, eventually declared Thornton Chase, a Chicagoan, to be the first American believer. In 1897, it was recorded that there were 60 believers living in Chicago, and today there are more than 400.

In 1912, `Abdu'l-Bahá, visited the United States for the first time, arriving May 1 and spending a total of 239 days in the country, traveling and speaking in nearly 40 different cities. His visit to Illinois included the laying of the foundation stone at what would later become the site of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Ill.

In 1912, `Abdu'l-Bahá spent from April to December touring North America. He is shown here (at center) with Bahá’ís at Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1912.
(Bahá’í Media Bank)

David Kellum

David Kellum, a long-time member of the Chicago Bahá’í community and civil rights leader, dedicated his life to inspiring young people and improving relations between the races.

Born in Greenville, Miss., Mr. Kellum is best known for being an editor at the Chicago Defender and a founder, director and grand marshal of the famous Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic. Started in 1929 by the Defender, the event, held on the second Saturday in August, has attracted more than 50 million children and their families throughout the United States for a day of community and celebration of African-American togetherness. (Excerpt from the US Bahá’í website )

Corinne Knight True

Corinne True became a Bahá'í in 1899, the same year that she lost her youngest son due to complications following the use of a new drug for diphtheria. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to Mrs. True, comforting her in her grief.

Mrs. True unceasingly urged her fellow-Bahá'ís to support the Temple project. She wrote numerous letters to Bahá'ís around the country. For weeks she searched for an appropriate site for the Temple, traveling by horsecar to the undeveloped areas north of Chicago until she found the land that would eventually be purchased for that purpose. She served on the early organizations formed by the Bahá'í community. She often spoke at Bahá'í conventions and other events. (Adapted from "The Dawning Place")

Robert S. Abbott

In June of 1934, the Bahá’í community was honored by the addition of a man who had already proven his worth to Chicago by spending many years working to promote race unity at a time when the struggle for equality was at it’s most volatile. Robert S. Abbott, born August 30, 1870, had become a lawyer and already begun the newspaper, the Chicago Defender in 1905 as a way to bring to light and fight for social justice and equality. Abbott also was a member of the Chicago Commission on Race Relations, a committee formed to conduct an inquiry into the 1919 Chicago Race Riots. In 1934, Abbott had already been a supporter of the Bahá’í Faith for a number of years, and eventually, in conjunction with David Kellum and the Chicago Defender, began the Bud Biliken Day parade in 1929.

Esther "Nettie" Tobin

One American Bahá’í who made a unique contribution to the effort to build the Bahá’í House of Worship in 1908 was Esther Tobin, known to her friends as Nettie. Nettie was a widow who supported herself and her two sons as a seamstress in Chicago. She was distressed by her inability to contribute financially to the Temple.

Nettie Tobin visited a construction site near her home, told the foreman about the Temple, and asked him for an inexpensive building stone. He invited her to take one of the damaged limestone rocks that were unsuitable for use. Later that day, she and a neighbor wrapped the stone in a piece of carpet, tied clothesline around it, and dragged it to her home. Two days later, with the help of two other friends, she transported the stone via horesecar to Evanston, six blocks from the Temple site. They struggled to carry it a few more blocks, then left the stone in the yard of an abandoned farmhouse. The next morning, Mrs. Tobin returned alone with a homemade cart and a shovel. With great difficulty, and with the help of two strangers who came to her aid at different points, she managed to get the cart to the Temple site, where it broke into pieces. She left the stone amidst the debris, said some prayers, and headed home.

Although ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Bahá'ís from around the world had sent stone markers for the Temple site, none of them ever reached the grounds. Only Nettie Tobin’s gift was available to serve as the cornerstone when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dedicated the site during His visit to the United States in 1912. (Adapted from "The Dawning Place")