Irving Park's development began in 1843 when Major Noble purchased a tract of land from Christopher J. Ward, upon which Noble established a farm. The boundaries of that farm today would be Montrose Avenue to the north, Irving Park Road to the South, Pulaski Road to the east and Kostner Avenue to the West. Major Noble's house on the East side of Elston just south of Montrose doubled as the Buckthorn Tavern, serving travelers coming to and from the city of Chicago along the North West Plank Road (Elston). After many years of successful farming Noble sold the farm and retired to McHenry County. Four men from New York, Charles T. Race, John S. Brown, Adelbert E Brown and John Wheeler, purchased the farm in 1869 for $20,000 USD. Shortly thereafter they purchased an additional tract immediately south of the Noble farm from John Gray for US$25,000. This parcel, bounded by Irving Park on the north, Grace on the south, Pulaski on the east and Kostner on the west was part of his original farm. The intention of the men was to continue farming, but after seeing the success of suburban communities which had recently opened for settlement, they decided to subdivide their land and create an exclusive settlement, from the city.