In the Nov. 19, 1926 edition of the Forest Park Review, there is a short biography of Arthur Kistenbroker IV, one of the early presidents of the village of Harlem (now Forest Park). 

There was a lot to say about this gentleman (1857-1935) who contended with an epidemic (diphtheria) in town, who covered payroll when village funds ran short and who specified what the first sidewalks in town had to look like.

The article reported that Arthur’s father, John, had the first Christmas tree in Chicago. A quick search throws some doubt on this claim, as soldiers at Fort Dearborn were said to have decorated a tree for Christmas in 1804. Still, as German immigrants coming to America in 1847, it’s safe to say that the Kistenbroker family had one of the earliest Christmas trees in the area. 

Shortly after Arthur was born, the family moved to what was then called Harlem where his father raised cattle. Arthur was one of four surviving children in the Kistenbroker family — nine of his siblings died in infancy. Early in his career, Arthur was a musician, playing the flute in several orchestras but by the time he was 27, he owned a marble and granite business across the street from Forest Home Cemetery (location is everything) which he ran until he retired in 1918. 

Arthur served as the Village of Harlem’s president for five terms (1888, 1889, 1890, 1892 and 1900.) He was one of the first presidents as Harlem was incorporated in 1884. Arthur oversaw incredible changes in the village that were not without controversy.

In 1892, Harlem experienced a devastating diphtheria epidemic. Dozens of people died, schools were closed, and signs were posted on “dangerous” houses.  Arthur came to loggerheads with the head of the State Board of Health. The state said Harlem had “impure water due to imperfect sewers” causing the spread of the disease. The state official also accused Arthur of not understanding the role of the State Board of Health, reporting that Arthur had said, “… the State Board of Health had sums of money appropriated for sanitary purposes, and that if they wanted to do anything they could go ahead and do it. That the present state of affairs was a blessing to the town, for then they would be anxious for the sewerage which he had tried to obtain for the town; that the very people whose families were sick and dying had opposed him in the matter and that such sacrifices were necessary to obtain what he wanted.” 

It sounds as though Arthur had trouble convincing residents that improvements to the sanitation system were necessary. 

There seems to be a several years break in his serving as village president, but Arthur returned in 1900 which turned out to be another consequential year. He oversaw an ordinance specifying how sidewalks were to be constructed. He also had to offer to pay police officers and village employees out of his own pocket because the village did not have the funds to cover paychecks. And in 1900, there was a dispute over what firm would provide gas to the village. Arthur refused to sign an ordinance giving the 50-year gas franchise to a company that the village trustees had chosen. The Chicago Tribune predicted that the upcoming board meeting to discuss the matter would be a “lively session.” (In the end, Arthur’s veto was overturned by the board.)

The Kistenbroker family is buried in Forest Home Cemetery. And while they might not have had the very first Christmas tree in Chicago, we can thank the Kistenbrokers, and other German immigrants, for bringing the brightly lit symbol of the yuletide to Forest Park. 

References: Forest Park Review, Franzosenbuschheritageproject.org, The Inter Ocean, The Chicago Tribune, Harlem Post, Encyclopedia of Chicago