From the FAA "History of O'Hare International Airport"
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/atct/ord/history/

In 1942, the War Production Board of the United States of America purchased a plot of undeveloped Cook County prairie land called
Orchard Place. The 1,790 acres of flatland was well suited for a huge airplane factory the government needed for the production of
military aircraft, specifically Douglas C-54s, during World War II. The facility was also the site of the Army Air Force’s 803 Special Depot
that stored many rare or experimental planes, including captured enemy aircraft. These historic aircraft would later be transferred to the
National Air Museum to eventually form the core of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s collection.

During the war, the airport was known as Orchard Place/Douglas Field, hence the airport’s identification ORD which remains today. After
the war in 1945, the production of aircraft ceased and the U.S. Government transferred 1.080 acres of airport land to the City of Chicago.
The facility was chosen by the City as the site to meet future aviation demands, additional land was purchased, and the airport was
renamed Orchard Field.

In 1949, the airfield became Chicago O’Hare International Airport named in honor of Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O’Hare, a
young Navy flier who gave his life in defense of his country. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1942 and is credited
with saving the aircraft carrier USS Lexington in the South Pacific by shooting down six of nine enemy bombers. O’Hare International
opened to commercial air traffic in 1955 and was formally dedicated on March 23, 1963, by President John F. Kennedy.

Park Ridge Zoning Map SW quadrant
http://www.parkridge.us/assets/1/Documents/ZONING_2010_BW_SW_Quadrant.pdf

From "Watson's Whizzers"
http://www.stormbirds.com/squadron/mission/stateside.htm

"By May 1946, plans were formulated to shut down Freeman Field and transfer all USAAF, German, Italian and Japanese aircraft to
storage facilities. Fighter aircraft were to be stored at the 803 Special Depot, Orchard Place Airport, Park Ridge, Illinois, where the
newly-promoted Captain Strobell was charged with managing the inventory. (This collection became the source of most of the foreign
combat planes that are in U.S. aviation museums.)"

US Gov National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/great-lakes/finding-aids/real-property-disposal.html
"Aircraft Assembly Plant #8--See Chicago Douglas Aircraft Assembly Plant #8, Chicago, IL."

From ORCHARD PLACE/DOUGLAS FIELD: ITS EARLY HISTORY
http://ohare.bensenville.lib.il.us/orchard.htm

"The Board Report was submitted to the War Production Board a few days after these discussions and the Board approved the Orchard
Place site in June 1942. Soon after the announcement of Orchard Place as the site of the new Douglas plant a local newspaper carried the
following headlines: "$20 million war plant for Bensenville area" and "Army to buy 1300 acres for Douglas Aircraft and airport".

From this point forward events move quickly despite strenuous objections from many local groups who wanted the area to maintain its
rural and residential character. Public hearing were scheduled in Park Ridge City Hall on June 18, 1942, to rezone Orchard Place from
agricultural land to industrial use. Following this meeting, Judge William J. Campbell signed an order to condemn the property for
government use and the Army Air Corps began to acquire land for development.

The Origin and Development of Chicago-O'Hare International Airport written at Ball State University Muncie, Indiana in August, 1970.
A copy of this dissertation is available at the Bensenville Community Public Library in Bensenville