The Robbins,IL
Airport

Robbins' historic all-black, built,
owned, and operated AIRPORT
was built in 1931. Becoming the first black Airport in the U.S.A.
OFFICIAL SITE
UPCOMING EVENTS &
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

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The S B Fuller home in Robbins,IL was donated to the Robbins History Museum for the public to visit & learn the
history of Robbins, Illinois
DONATIONS ARE NEEDED TO REPAIR THIS HOME TO BECOME
Our NEW ROBBINS MUSEUM building.
Donations starting at $500 and Up will get your name engraved on a Special
wall in the living room area of this home. The larger your donation, The
larger Your Name size will appear on this special wall. All donations to this effort are 100% Tax Deductible.
(Print clearly your Name & Address)
Make all Checks Payable to:
Robbins History Museum Project
P.O. Box 1561 Robbins, IL 60472.
Our Phone is (708) 359-8701
Our Emai: robbinshistory@yahoo.com.
Thank You
T. Haymore, Director
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Robbins' Very Own....
Career Scientist is making history:
Mr. Jarrad Hampton-Marcell

Robbins
History
Museum
Robbins, IL
"The most historic black town in America "
What do Dwyane Wade, Lt. Uhura, Mr. T and actress Keke Palmer have in
common? Answer They are all from Robbins,IL and all are featured in the
Robbins,IL History Museum.
The 40 by 40 square foot facility was opened in August 2010 by Co-Founder,
Director/Curator/Historian Tyrone Haymore.
Some of the museum’s unsung heroes included pioneer aviators Cornelius R.
Coffey and John C. Robinson who in 1931 in Robbins,IL built the first black
owned/Operated airport in the U.S. The pair trained pilots who later became
Tuskegee Airmen, African-American aviators who fought in World War II. Ten of
the original Tuskegee Airmen who Coffey and Robinson trained, are all from Robbins,IL. according to Haymore who also said:
“I was inspired by the Robbins airport, this is what motivated me to create the
Robbins Museum to tell the true beginnings of the Tuskegee Airmen.”
Robbins,IL is the sixth-oldest African-American community in the U.S. founded in
1892 by former slaves and descendants of slaves and Mulattos who had
problems after slavery living in areas of Chicago bought cheap farm land south-
west of Chicago's border. They later incorporated farm area through the State of
Illinois and named it Robbins,IL on December 14,1917.
Actress Nichelle Nichols’ grandfather, Samuel G. Nichols,was one of the village’s
original settlers.Nichols,who portrayed Lt.Uhura in Star Trek,was born in Robbins
in a two-story frame house built by her grandfather. Her father Samuel E. Nichols
was Robbins mayor from 1929-31.
“I remember the stories my father told me of Al Capone’s brothers and henchmen
who came to kill him because one of his police officers without him knowing it
raided one of Al Capone’s gin mills in Robbins, IL at the corner of 137th &
Lawndale Av. said Nichelle from her home in Los Angeles, CA. by phone"
Nichols said she was honored to be included in the museum, which displays her
original Lt. Uhura uniform and boots. Nichols said ironically she met some of the
Tuskegee Airmen in 1979 while serving as a special recruiter for NASA, helping
the space agency to attract its first women and minority astronauts.Other notable
Robbins residents included in the museum: S.B. Fuller, the late multimillionaire
businessman; Chris Hinton, Joe Montgomery,Darrell Robinsons all NFL football
players. Delores Washington, a singer along with Albertina Walker in the group,
the Gospel Caravans.
During the 1920s, Haymore said even Black nationalist Marcus Garvey came to
visit Robbins to set up a chapter of his organization,the Universal Negro Improve-
ment Association (UNIA) “He was so impressed that Blacks were governing a
town,” Haymore said. “He’d never heard of a town with all black elected officials.”
Operating the museum hasn’t been easy for Haymore, a retired CTA a bus driver
and clerk.Haymore said he provided most of the $20,000 used to open the facility.
He added, “We have been beaten down in almost everything in Robbins
economically. One of the only things we have left is our history There is no black
town in America like Robbins.” Robbins can also lay claim to two Olympic
Dwyane Wade Gold medal winner in 2008 in China in basketball and Willie May,
a 1960 Olympic silver medalist in track and field.Two Original Harlem Globtrotters
of Robbins are Lee Collins, and Fred Marberry who retired to Robbins,IL.
Visit the Robbins History Musem,3644 W. 139th St. Robbins, IL 60472. Open
every Saturday 12noon to 5pm. Open all other days by appointment call
(708)359-8701 or 389-5393. Admission is FREE. Donations are Welcome.
ROBBINS HISTORY MUSEUM
3644 W. 139th St. Robbins, IL
HOURS OPEN
Saturdays 12noon-5pm
Open All Other Days by Appointment when you call: (708)359-8701
Admission Is FREE
Col. John C. Robinson, is one of the two men who built the
historic 1931 Robbins, IL Airport, He also built/trained the Ethiopian Air Force. In 2015 Robinson was named "Father of the Ethiopian Airlines. This book about him was released
in 2015 and is available at the Robbins History Museum
Cost: $29.95

S.B. Fuller of Robbins, IL America's First self-made
Black Multi-Millionaire who started with only a 6th grade education and $25 in his pocket. His biography is
on sell at the Robbins History Museum for $29.95

The Autobiography of
Mayor Irene Brodie is now on
sale at the Robbins History
Museum cost $24.95
