Marquette Park’s three and a half acre Ashburn prairie remnant has a very special history. The story begins during the pre-settlement era at 87th Street and Kedzie Avenue on a lot near the Evergreen Cemetery. It was at this location that the original Ashburn prairie thrived, untouched by farming, housing and commercial development. The mesic prairie contained nearly 100 species of native plants. Forbs such as Mountain Mint ("Pycanthemum verticillatum"), Nodding Wild Onion ("Allium cernuum"), Nodding Ladies’ Tresses ("Spiranthes cernua"), Purple Coneflower ("Echinacea purpurea"), Black-eyed Susan ("Rudbeckia hirta"), Prairie Dock ("Silphium perfoliatum"), Compass Plant ("Silphium lacinatum"), and Obedient-plant ("Physostegia virginiana") were found at the prairie. Grasses such as Big Bluestem ("Andropogon gerardi") and Indian grass ("Sorghastrum nutans") were also present.