Homes for sale in
Norridge.

Farmers first established settlements in the area that became Norridge in the 1830s, and into the early twentieth century the land held small truck farms and, near the Cook County Forest Preserves, numerous riding stables. Through the efforts of a local Annexation Improvement Club, Norridge was incorporated by referendum on December 4, 1948, by a vote of 578 to 195, when the population was about 1,675 and the area was roughly 80 acres. The incorporation specifically stymied an effort by Chicago to annex the area. The name Norridge was suggested by a resident, combining Nor from Norwood Park Township and Ridge from the nearby suburb of Park Ridge.

The 1950s were a decade of growth, with the paving of sidewalks, streets, and curbs and the installation of storm and sanitary sewers, and in 1954 Norridge doubled its size by annexing the area between Montrose Avenue and Lawrence Avenue. The village's drive to control its own boundaries continued in 1959, when Norridge annexed the Pennoyer School property the night before a planned Chicago annexation tied to protecting O'Hare Airport could take effect. Norridge became a Home Rule community by referendum on May 1, 1973, and its population peaked at 18,043 in 1971 before settling to 14,582 by the 2000 census. The village notes it is the only community in the world named Norridge.