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A NEW & DIFFERENT
NEIGHBORHOOD

Sansone’s subdivision was a new and different neighborhood beginning in 1946, located in the small town of Geneva, Illinois, 35 miles west of Chicago’s Loop on Roosevelt Road; far enough from the big city to stand on its own but close enough to be considered a suburb. The subdivision’s namesake, Claude Sansone (1892-1964), was a leading local resident, businessman, entrepreneur, and promoter of west side development. Sansone saw an opportunity to meet the incredible demand for new housing and make money by turning cropland into new homesites, and he succeeded where a prior developer had failed due to overambition and bad timing.

2026

Now in 2026, the earliest phase of Sansone’s subdivision is 80 years old and it is perhaps time to record some of the story of the first decade of this new neighborhood and the antecedents. It’s a story of one development in a small Midwestern town, but also a story that was repeated in cities and towns all across America from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. Seeing Sansone’s subdivision in context of the big events, trends and boom and bust land speculation cycles of the 20^th century, of local progress, and changes in the housing industry itself is an important part of this story.

There is still another reason to chronicle the history of Sansone’s subdivision. The residents who today live in the neighborhood are part of a continuing line, and it is right that they should feel themselves related to and aware of what has gone before. To suggest something of the character and quality of this neighborhood and to record some of the milestones is the purpose of this historical footnote.